Harry Potter and A Grandfather's Gift
by MadScribbler
Summary: A week after Sirius falls through the veil, Harry receives a gift, which might hold the answers he's been looking for.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Harry Potter sat alone on the steps leading to the great doors of Hogswart's School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, re-reading the letter he had received the night before.

Dear Mr. Potter,

I have something which your grandfather, Charles William Potter, left for me to give to you. If it is possible for you to do so, please come to my shop tomorrow after the Hogswart's Express arrives in London. Tidwell's Wizarding Tents and Trunks is located in Diagon Alley, two blocks north of Gringott's bank. This matter is both urgent and confidential. If you are unable to come at that time, please send an owl to let me know when a more convenient arrangement might be made. If, however, you can be here tomorrow, no owl is necessary.

Sincerely,

Thomas Tidwell

Harry refolded the letter and stuck it in his pocket. His grandfather had left him something? Had his grandparents been alive when he was born? Why hadn't it been given to him before now? He wondered what it would be like to have grown up knowing his grandparents.

Remus had arranged to meet him at King's Cross Station. They were going to Gringotts for the reading of Sirius's will, and then to Remus's cottage for the night before Harry returned to the Dursley's house the next day. It had been exactly a week since Sirius had fallen through the veil, and the last thing Harry wanted was to walk into Grimmauld Place knowing his godfather would not be there. He was sure that Remus felt the same and had decided to take Harry to his own cottage for that reason.

He had not told Remus about the letter, but he was sure he would allow him to visit the shop before their appointment at Gringotts. Mr. Tidwell had said the matter was "both urgent and confidential." He wondered how much he could tell Remus without him repeating it to the headmaster.

Harry was upset with Dumbledore. He believed that much of what happened could have been prevented if the headmaster had not kept silent. Had he been honest with Harry; had he told him about the prophecy stored in the Department of Mysteries; had he made Harry aware that Voldemort could place false visions in his mind; had he gotten anyone but Snape to teach him occlumency; had he not kept Sirius a prisoner in his own house; had he allowed them to get rid of Kreacher; had he not allowed Snape to goad Sirius . . .

Harry sighed and rubbed his eyes underneath his glasses, forcing his thoughts back to how much he should tell Remus. His thoughts were interrupted as the doors to the castle opened and Neville and Luna joined him on the stairs.

"All packed, Harry?" Neville asked.

"Yeah, just waiting for the carriages," he answered.

"Where are Hermione, Ron, and Ginny?" Luna asked.

"Ron's still packing. Hermione's helping him, and I haven't seen Ginny since breakfast." He looked at Neville sheepishly. "How's your nose?"

"It's fine. Madame Pomfrey fixed it right up."

Harry nodded. "How about you, Luna? How are you doing?"

"I'm good, Harry," she said, staring at him with her wide blue eyes. "How are you?"

"Fine," he said. "I wasn't hurt all that much."

She stared at him for a moment longer, then opened a copy of the Quibbler and began to read silently. Harry turned his attention to Neville. "I'm sorry," he said softly. "About everything."

Neville frowned at him. "There's nothing to be sorry about, Harry. You didn't do anything wrong."

"He's right," Luna said, not looking up from the Quibbler. "Every one of us would have done the same if it had been one of our family members. It would have been unforgivable to."

Harry felt tears sting his eyes and wiped at them furiously. "But if I'd done what Hermione said and gotten more information . . . "

"You did everything you could to get information," Neville argued. "You had no idea that the vision wasn't true. If it had been, you couldn't afford to wait any longer. You did what you had to do. We all did."

"Yes, we did," Luna added, finally looking up from her paper. "And I would do it again under the same circumstances. Wouldn't you, Harry?"

He thought about that for a moment before he truthfully answered, "Yes, I would."

She smiled and turned her attention back to her paper. Neville took a small box out of his pocket and began to feed his toad Trevor some dead flies. Harry watched, feeling a little better for the first time since Sirius had died.

Finally, the carriages began to arrive. Students poured out of the doors of the castle, pulling trunks and carrying pet cages. Harry, Neville, and Luna stood and moved out of the way, waiting for Hermione and the Weasleys.

The train ride did not seem as long as it usually did. Harry, who had not slept well for some time, was asleep shortly after the train pulled out of Hogsmeade Station.

The next thing he knew, Ron was shaking his shoulder. "We've arrived, mate. Time to wake up."

Harry sat up, rubbing his eyes and looking dazedly at the people in the compartment. "Why didn't you wake me before?"

"Thought you could use the sleep," Ron said, taking his trunk off the overhead rack.

Harry waited until the others had moved out of the compartment, then got his own trunk and owl and followed them out of the train and onto the platform.

Remus, who was waiting with the Weasleys, waved when he saw Harry. Taking a deep breath, he prepared himself for the reception he would get from Mrs. Weasley and followed Ron and Ginny over to the waiting family members.

"Oh, Harry!" Mrs. Weasley cried, crushing him in a motherly hug. "I'm so sorry, dear." She held him close, gently running her fingers through the back of his hair. Harry laid his head on her shoulder and held her tightly, shutting his eyes to stop the tears that were again threatening to rob him of what little dignity he had left. He wished he could just stay where he was, in her arms, and let the tears fall. But the station was crowded and an awkward silence had developed around them.

"Thank you, Mrs. Weasley," he said, raising his head and loosening his grip. Finally, she let him go.

"If you need us for anything," Mr. Weasley said, placing his hand on Harry's shoulder, "Just send us an owl and we'll be there."

Harry forced a smile and nodded. "Thank you, Mr. Weasley."

Finally, Remus came to his rescue. "We should be off," he said, placing an arm around Harry's shoulder. "We have an appointment to keep."

Harry waved goodbye to the Weasleys and allowed Remus to lead him away. Before passing through the barrier to the Muggle area of the station, Harry released Hedwig and told her meet them at Remus's cottage. Remus shrunk the cage and trunk, and Harry put them in his pocket. Then they walked through the barrier toward the underground.

When they were finally seated on the underground, Remus placed silencing and notice-me-not charms around them so they could talk privately. "We need to talk about something," he said.

Harry looked at him warily. He wasn't ready to talk about Sirius yet.

"I want to prepare you for something before you hear it read in the will."

"All right," Harry said, glad he wasn't asking him to share his feelings.

"Sirius asked me to be your magical guardian and I agreed. However, if you'd rather someone else . . . "

"No," he said quickly, relieved. "I don't want someone else. I'd rather have you."

Remus smiled, also relieved. "Good," he said, sounding pleased. "Then I'd be honored."

"What exactly is a magical guardian?"

"Well, it's pretty much what the name implies. In this case, the Dursleys are your guardians in the Muggle world, and I'll hold the same rights and responsibilities in the Wizarding world. Because of my condition, I can't legally adopt you, the way Sirius could have if he'd been free, but other than that, it's pretty much the same."

"So, you're my godfather now?"

"Well, no. I'll be your guardian, though. I'll be the one to grant you permission for Hogsmeade trips and such; I'll be the one they'll contact if you get sick or hurt or in trouble."

"So, you'll be more like a parent, then."

"Exactly. If that's all right with you."

Harry smiled. "I'll finally have a real parent."

Remus laughed. "I'm not exactly an experienced parent, but I'll do the best I can, Harry. I promise."

Harry looked at him thoughtfully, wondering if he could live with Remus. But then he reminded himself that Remus was still spending most of his time at Grimmauld Place, and Harry wasn't ready to return to there.

Remus watched the emotions playing across his face. "What are you thinking, Harry?" he asked softly.

"I-I was just thinking about . . . maybe later . . . not now, though . . . that maybe I could live with you someday?"

Remus smiled at him. "The headmaster told me that, in order to keep the blood protection active, you have to return to your aunt's house once a year for no more than two weeks. That's how long it takes for the wards to renew themselves. After that, though, you can go wherever you want, as long as it's safe."

Harry nodded thoughtfully. "I'm not ready to go back to Grimmauld Place yet."

"I understand. I'd like to move out of there as soon as possible."

"Remus, there's something I need to talk to you about, too." At Remus's nod, he continued. "Since you're like a parent now, can I tell you things without your telling Professor Dumbledore? I mean, you're the one responsible for me now, so can things that I tell you stay between us?"

"Of course, Harry. The only thing I would report to Albus is anything having to do with the Order. Anything you tell me privately is between the two of us."

"Okay, so, for example, if I told you that I needed to go somewhere before we went to Gringotts, that would be between us?"

Remus frowned suspiciously. "Where do you need to go?"

Harry sighed and took the letter out of his pocket and handed it to Remus. "To Tidwell's Wizarding Tents and Trunks."

Remus read the letter, then looked up at Harry. "Thomas was a friend of your grandfather's, a very close friend. Of course you can go there first. Do you want me to go in with you or wait outside?"

"Well, he wrote that it was confidential, so I thought I should go in alone. Do you think it's safe?

Remus nodded thoughtfully. "Yes, I do. However, I'll wait just outside the shop." He looked at his watch. "We have two hours before we have to be at Gringotts. If we have time, we'll have dinner after you visit Thomas. If not, we'll wait until after our appointment at the bank." He discreetly ended the charms and smiled at Harry. "Here's our stop."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Harry strolled into Tidwell's Wizarding Tents and Trunks, glancing at the displays. Tents were set up around the store, and Harry recalled his first and only experience inside a wizarding tent at the National Quiddich Championship game before his fourth year.

"Ah, Mr. Potter, I'm glad you could make it." Harry looked up and saw a tall, slender man coming toward him. He looked to be about 55 or 60 years old. His dark hair was spattered with gray. He held out his hand and Harry shook it.

"You look just like your father," he said, and Harry waited for him to add the part about having his mother's eyes, but Mr. Tidwell continued without mentioning it. "And Jamey looked just like his father." He paused, his eyes turning sad. "I really miss your grandfather. He was the best friend I ever had."

"I wish I could have known him," Harry said, not quite sure how to respond. "Both of them," he added softly.

Mr. Tidwell smiled consolingly. "Let's go back to my office, and I'll show you what I wrote to you about in my letter."

Harry followed him through the store and into the office, which was in the back. The office was large and decorated warmly, the colors reminding him of the Griffindor common room.

"Were you a Griffindor, Mr. Tidwell?" Harry asked, seating himself in the chair in front of the desk that Mr. Tidwell motioned for him to take.

The man smiled warmly. "Yes, I was, as was your grandfather. We were in the same year. And I hear that you've continued your family's tradition."

Harry grinned, pleased to discover that he was part of a long line of Griffindors, just like his best friend, Ron Weasley.

"Right, then. It's late, and I know you need to get home, so let's get down to business." He opened a drawer of his desk and took out a gold chain with a pendant attached. He laid it on the desk. The pendant was a rectangle, made of a black material, which Harry had never seen before, marbled with dark red and green lines. He couldn't tell if it was a stone or something similar to leather. The gold chain was attached at both ends of the longer sides of the rectangle so that the shorter ends formed the top and bottom. The name Potter was inscribed across the pendant in gold script.

"About a month before you were born, your grandfather commissioned me to make something for him. In fact, your grandfather actually put more into the construction of the object than I did. Charley, that's what most people called your grandfather, was an unspeakable in the Department of Mysteries. He worked in Research and Development and was responsible for some of the most amazing charms and other spell-work imaginable. Some of his work was so secret that only a few who worked in the DoM knew of its existence.

He reached down and picked up the pendant. "This is your grandfather's finest piece of work. It took over a year for us to complete this project, and by the time it was completed, your grandparents were gone and your parents had gone into hiding. When you defeated Voldemort, I placed it in a vault in Gringotts where it's been until today."

Harry leaned forward to get a closer look. "What is it?"

Mr. Tidwell stood up and set the pendant down on the floor. "Come over here, Harry, and place your thumb on the pendant." Harry went over and knelt down in front of it, placing his thumb over the small object. "Now, don't say anything aloud. Just think the word 'restore.'"

'Restore,' Harry thought, and suddenly the pendant disappeared and in its place was a trunk, much like his school trunk. On top of the trunk was the name Potter in gold letters. He looked up at Mr. Tidwell in surprise.

"This, my boy, is a multi-dimensional trunk. The outside is made of the strongest dragon hide, so it can't be scratched, burned, dented, or damaged in any way. Now, see the numbers there on the front?" Harry saw three numbers, which could be turned like a combination lock on a brief case. "Turn the dial to 001," Mr. Tidwell instructed, "Then open the trunk."

Harry obeyed, and when the trunk was open, he saw that the compartment looked much like his own trunk. However, the inside was made of cedar. He found that he liked the way it smelled and wondered if his clothes would smell as fresh after being in the trunk.

"That's the first compartment," Mr. Tidwell said. "It holds about three times more than a normal trunk. This compartment is for clothes. Now, close that up and turn the number to 002 to see the second compartment."

Harry obeyed, and found that the second compartment was sectioned off for different uses. "This holds your school supplies, parchment, ink, quills, books, a cauldron, potion ingredients, your broom, and anything else you might need for school. It, too, holds more than a normal trunk. Now, turn to the third compartment."

The third was also sectioned and held what Mr. Tidwell called "personal items." It would hold his invisibility cloak, the marauders map, journals, letters, bank statements, galleons, muggle money, and anything else that he didn't want other people to see when he opened his trunk to get his clothes or school supplies.

"The first three compartments are for normal trunk usage. They're really not necessary for anything other than to hide the real purpose of the trunk. Now, turn to 004, and you'll see what that purpose is," Mr. Tidwell said.

Hands trembling with excitement, Harry turned the numbers to 004 and opened the trunk. It was dark inside, and all he could see was a set of wooden stairs going down into the trunk. "Think the word 'lumos,'" he was instructed, and Harry and Mr. Tidwell stepped into the trunk and walked down a well-lit, wooden circular staircase. At the bottom, Harry found himself in a large library. The walls were lined, floor to ceiling, with books. There was a fireplace on one wall with a sofa and two comfortable looking chairs in front of it. There was a desk and several chairs and end tables scattered around the room. Harry spun around slowly, taking it all in.

Over the fireplace was a tapestry like the one he had seen in the Black family library. A closer look showed him that it was the Potter Family Tree. A warm feeling came over him. He had a grandfather who had known him, and he had a family tree. He suddenly felt more connected to his family than he ever had before.

Mr. Tidwell went to a small section of one of the bookcases behind the desk and pushed on the side. It swung open to reveal a large pensieve on a stand. "There are instructions on how to use this in a booklet I'll show you later," he said.

"I've always wanted one of those, ever since I saw Professor Dumbledores," Harry said, excitedly.

Mr. Tidwell closed the shelf housing the pensieve. "You can take more time with this later," he said. "There's much more I need to show you."

Harry allowed himself to be led to one of two doors behind the desk. "This," said Mr. Tidwell opening the door. "Is a potions lab. It is fully equipped and has every ingredient you can imagine. The ingredients have a stay-fresh charm on them. There's also a potions library over here," he said, leading Harry to a back wall lined with books. "It's self-updating. When a potion is patented, it appears in this library, along with the instructions for brewing it."

"You mean, something like the instructions for the wolfsbane potion would be in here?" Harry asked, amazed that a library could be self-updating.

"Absolutely. Every potion that has ever been patented is in here."

He grinned, thinking about what this would mean for Remus.

"And through this door is a medical facility," he said. Harry followed him into the connecting room which contained two hospital beds and cabinets filled with medical supplies. "This was to be your grandmother's area. Anna was a healer, a potions master, and an expert on Herbology. Unfortunately, she never got to use it."

Harry followed Mr. Tidwell out of the medical facility and back into the potions lab. "And through this door," he said, indicating a door on the opposite wall, "is a greenhouse for potions ingredients that must be used fresh, medicinal herbs, flowers, and vegetables." He grinned. "Your mother wouldn't allow any vegetable on her table that didn't come from her own garden."

Harry stared at the room in awe. It looked exactly like a glass-enclosed conservatory, but he knew that it had to be an illusion, being inside a trunk. Yet, sunlight streamed through the glass and the plants were lush and plentiful. Cobblestone paths wound through the immense garden. A pond filled with fish was situated in the center surrounded by a trees and benches for people to sit on to relax and enjoy the scenery. It was the most beautiful room Harry had ever seen.

Mr. Tidwell led him out of the conservatory, through the potions lab, and back into the library. "Now, I'm going to show you a room that your grandfather designed and built himself. But before I do, I have to let you know that this room must remain a secret, Harry. This room is why I haven't given you the trunk before. I should have waited until you were a legal adult, and that's not for another year, but after what happened at the DoM last week, I felt I couldn't wait any longer. What this room does, Harry, may not even be known to the researchers in the DoM, and frankly, it's probably illegal for you or me or anyone else to have access to this kind of magic."

At Harry's frown, he continued to explain. "Oh, it's not dark magic. It's just very advanced magic. In fact, it's unheard of in our world. It's the sort of thing your grandfather worked at." He opened the door, and Harry followed him inside.

"This is the control room," he said, and Harry found himself inside a room, which reminded him of the deck of the Starship Enterprise. On one side of the room was a long panel with flashing buttons. There was a large screen, which took up the entire wall over the panel.

"This is a magical computer, an invention of your grandfather's. The buttons on the panel are simple to use, as you can see. They're marked with names like screen on, shrink, restore, invisible, etc." He flipped the button that said screen on, and Harry could see the interior of Mr. Tidwell's office. "This enables you to see whatever is outside the trunk. You can also charm places into this area here to move the trunk wherever you want it to go. You just have to put in the coordinates or give a specific name or address to where you want to go. The instructions are simple and are right here in this desk drawer."

"This is amazing!" Harry said, sitting down in front of the screen. He opened the drawer, took out the leather bound book of instructions, and flipped through it. It was written in what he assumed was his grandfather's handwriting. "What else does it do?"

Mr. Tidwell looked thoughtful for a moment, and then sighed. "This trunk can do amazing things, Harry, and you'll find them all in the instruction journal. But there's something I want to caution you about. In fact, this is the one thing that made me hesitate to give you the trunk before you were of age. The trunk is capable of not only traveling from place to place, but also moving anyone inside it forward or backward in time. You realize, of course, that doing so could be disastrous. If you change the past, it could have devastating affects on the present. People you know might cease to exist. Our world could end up in even worse shape than it is. Be responsible with this power I'm placing in your hands, Harry."

"I will, Mr. Tidwell, I swear it," Harry said, nodding earnestly, but an idea was already forming in his mind. He would keep that to himself, though.

"Let me show you the other compartments, then you can take the trunk home and read the instructions." Harry placed the book back in the drawer and followed Mr. Tidwell out of the control room and back into the library.

"You can reach the other compartments without having to leave the trunk. Each compartment has a door leading to the next." He showed Harry a door beside the control room.

Harry opened the door and walked into a large lounge with a fireplace and comfortable furniture. Over the fireplace was a portrait of a man who looked like an older version of his father. "That's your grandfather, Harry."

Harry stood in front of the portrait for a moment and admired his grandfather. "Is this a magical portrait?" he asked.

"Yes, but it's not activated. You'll read about that in the instruction book."

Harry nodded and allowed Mr. Tidwell to continue the tour.

The fifth compartment was a large living area. It contained a living room, 4 bedrooms— each with its own bathroom, a dining room with a table that seated 20 people, a large kitchen, a utility room with storage and laundry facilities, and a small dormitory area for house elves.

The sixth compartment contained more bedrooms. There were 8, in fact, each with it's own bathroom. Harry realized there were enough bedrooms for the entire Weasley family to move in without having to share sleeping quarters.

The seventh compartment was Harry's favorite. It was a Room of Requirement. By thinking of what he wanted, Harry turned the room into a forest, a beach, a swimming pool, a quiddich pitch complete with spectator stands, a dueling room, and finally the Great Hall of Hogwarts. "I could have some great parties in here!" he said, grinning happily.

Mr. Tidwell laughed as he led him to the last compartment, which was empty. It reminded Harry of the Hogwart's dungeon. The walls, floor, and even the ceiling looked like solid stone. "I don't know what your grandfather had in mind for this room," he said. "It was something he was going to work on himself after the rest of the trunk was finished. I suppose you could turn it into anything you wanted."

They climbed out of the trunk and back into Mr. Tidwell's office.

"Now, Harry. There are a few more things I need to tell you about the trunk. This is very important."

Harry gave him his full attention.

"Please shrink the trunk just by thinking the word shrink."

Harry did, and Mr. Tidwell picked up the pendant and chain from the floor.

"Your grandfather created a spell so that when I place this chain around your neck, I will be obliviated. I will remember nothing about the trunk, only that you came in here to look at Wizarding tents. Once the pendant is around your neck, no one can remove it, except for you, of course. You will be the only one who can open it, move it, see it, touch it, or feel it.

"Let's say that you were captured by Death Eaters, and they stripped you naked and chained you to a wall. They would not be able to see or feel that pendant. All you would have to do is think the words 'safe haven,' and you would disappear from the chained wall and reappear in your trunk. Think the word 'home,' and the trunk will appear in a place that you've charmed to be your home base. It doesn't matter where you are. You could be in the most warded place in the world, and the trunk will pass through it. You could appear in or disappear from Askaban, a Gringott's vault, a room in Hogwarts, or anywhere else in the world. All you need to do is to keep that pendant around your neck at all times when you are out of the trunk.

"You can charm it so other people can enter and leave the trunk, and you can decide who can access which rooms. If you or someone you've charmed to have access are injured badly enough to lose consciousness, you will automatically be brought back to the medical facilities in the trunk, and the trunk will return to your home base. When someone is transported to this facility, an alarm will sound. If no one answers it, the trunk will automatically transport the patient to St. Mungos or, if you prefer, the Hogwart's hospital ward. Everyone you charmed to the trunk will receive a medallion, which will enable them to use the trunk as a safe haven.

"Even when other people are inside the trunk, you can shrink it, put it around your neck, and go about your day. It won't affect anything inside the trunk. People inside won't be able to tell it has shrunk or that it's moving. You, yourself, can be inside the trunk and shrink it or turn it invisible or move it from place to place from the control panel. None of this affects the inside. Everything about this trunk can be found in the instructions in the Control Room. Do you have any questions?"

Harry felt overwhelmed, but he shook his head. He would read more about the trunk later. For now, he needed to get to Gringotts.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Harry left Tidwell's Wizarding Tents and Trunks in a daze. What he had seen inside was overwhelming, and ideas and plans sped through his mind faster than he could process them.

Remus stood up from the bench he'd been sitting on when he saw Harry leave the shop. "Are you all right?" he asked, questioning the look of amazement on his face.

Harry looked up at Remus and grinned. "Yeah," he said, as if he couldn't believe it. "I am."

Remus smiled in amusement. "We'd better hurry, Harry. We don't want to be late."

Harry nodded and walked with Remus the two blocks to Gringotts. "I've got so much to tell you," he said, still shocked by all the things the trunk was capable of. "But it'll have to wait until we're alone."

Remus looked intrigued. It had been so long since he had seen Harry this excited. "I can't wait to find out," he said, grinning. "Can you give me a hint?"

Harry smiled mysteriously. "You'll see. Let's do this first, then I'll tell you."

When they arrived at Gringotts, they were ushered into a room where they found Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Tonks and her parents Andromeda and Ted, and, surprisingly, Severus Snape already waiting.

Mr. and Mrs. Weasley sat on one side of the long table, and Tonks and her parents sat on the opposite side, facing them. Snape sat at the end of the table. Harry took a seat beside Mrs. Weasley, who smiled sadly and patted his hand. Remus sat beside him, between Snape and Harry.

Ragnok, Head of the Goblin Nation and Chief Goblin of Gringotts, came into the room with another Goblin, whom Harry recognized as Griphook, the one who had escorted him and Hagrid on his first trip to Gringotts. Ragnok, who was carrying several pieces of parchment, sat down at the head of the table. Griphook stood just in front of the closed door.

Ragnok cleared his throat. "We are here for the reading of the will of Sirius Orion Black. Mr. Black requested a private reading, allowing only you eight to attend." He opened one of the parchments and began to read:

I, Sirius Orion Black, being of sound mind and body, do hereby attest that this is my last Will and Testament. I have left each of you a private letter, so I will be brief.

To Arthur and Molly Weasley, I leave the amount of 1,000,000 galleons.

To Ted and Andromeda Tonks, I leave the amount of 1,000,000 galleons. I also leave to Andromeda Black Tonks the entire contents of Vault 127, which contains the Black Family heirlooms, including the family jewelry, paintings, furnishings, and antiques.

To Nymphadora Tonks, I leave the amount of 1,000,000 galleons.

As godfather and legal magical guardian of Harry James Potter, I leave to Remus John Lupin the responsibility for the legal magical guardianship of Harry James Potter.

To Harry James Potter, I leave my motorcycle, which is located in the garden shed at 112 Grimmauld Place in London.

To Remus Lupin and Harry Potter, I leave the house at 112 Grimmauld Place in London and all it's contents, to be lived in or to be sold at their pleasure. I also leave them (Harry Potter and Remus Lupin) the entire contents of Vault 128, to be divided equally between them, which are the remainder of my assets. It has been liquidated and is, at present, in the amount of 28,000,000 galleons.

To Severus Snape, I leave my house elf, Kreacher, to be used as he sees fit.

Signed: Sirius Orion Black

Witness: Minister Ragnok, Chief Goblin of Gringotts Bank

Harry looked at the other inhabitants of the room. All were staring into space in a daze, including Andromeda. They were obviously as shocked as he was. He knew that the Black family had been wealthy, but he had no idea that it was so much. Snape, on the other hand, had a look of horror. Harry coughed to cover a laugh. So this was Sirius's last prank on the greasy git.

Ragnok interrupted his thoughts. "If there are no questions, I will pass around the personal letters he left for each of you and the documents for you to sign. Your inheritances will be added to your personal vaults by tomorrow morning. Mrs. Andromeda Tonks, please stay after the meeting so that you can receive the key to Vault 127."

Harry was glad that his letter from Sirius was sealed. He didn't want to read it until he was in the privacy of his bedroom back in Surrey. He stuffed the letter into his pocket, and then signed the form accepting his inheritance. He spoke quietly for a few moments with the Tonks family and the Weasleys, then he said his goodbyes and went to his vault to fill two bags with galleons. He had one bag converted to muggle money, then he and Remus left the bank.

Outside Gringotts, Harry sighed. "I've never been so glad to be out of a place in my life," he said to Remus. "Well, except for number 4 Privet Drive."

Remus grinned. "And maybe the Chamber of Secrets?" he added.

"Yeah, that, too. And the chamber with the Philosopher's Stone."

"And the Department of Mysteries."

"Yeah, and the Riddle graveyard and all of the Triwizard tasks."

Remus laughed and put his arm around Harry's shoulders. "So, what is it that you wanted to tell me?"

"Let's go to the Leaky Cauldron and have dinner. I'll tell you when we get to your house."

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Remus cottage was located in an isolated area surrounded by trees. It was a small house with three bedrooms and a bathroom upstairs, a lounge and a large kitchen-dining area downstairs, and a basement. It had been Remus's childhood home. He had moved back there after he stopped teaching at Hogwarts and again since Sirius had fallen through the veil.

"I've only been back here a week," Remus said apologetically. "So I haven't had much time to clean, but there's food, so I think we can manage for the night." He invited Harry to sit in the living room in front of the fire while he made tea.

"So," Remus said, giving Harry a cup then sitting in the chair across from him. "What is it that you wanted to tell me?"

Harry hardly knew where to begin. He took a sip of tea, and then set the cup down on the table beside his chair. "I think it's better if I show you," he said. Harry took off his pendant and laid it on the floor. 'Restore,' he thought, and the pendant transformed into a trunk.

Remus set his cup down, leaned over, and ran his fingers over the gold letters that formed the name Potter. "What a beautiful trunk, Harry. This is why you wanted to go to Tidwell's, to pick up your new trunk."

Harry grinned. "Watch this, Remus." He turned the dial to 004 and showed Remus the circular staircase.

Remus gazed at him in surprise. "A multi-dimensional trunk? I've never actually seen one before, but I've heard that Alaster Moody has one."

He followed Harry down the stairs and was given a tour of levels 4 through 8. During the tour, Harry told Remus about the prophecy and how, after hearing it, his grandfather had commissioned the trunk for the safety of his family, but that all except Harry had been killed before its completion. He took him back up to level 4 and opened the control room door.

As Remus looked around in amazement, Harry seated himself at the control panel and took out the book of instructions. After a few moments of flipping through pages and reading, he asked Remus to give him a hair from his head. Remus plucked one out for him and stood behind Harry, watching him.

Harry placed the hair on the control panel over a recessed light and then covered it with his hand. "Remus John Lupin," he said. "Levels 4 through 8 accesses. Control Room access. Transporting access. Safe Haven access. Owl access. Confirm." The panel light glowed red, and Harry moved his hand. In place of the hair was a gold chain with a gold letter P medallion. He lifted it up and placed it around Remus's neck. "Now, you will be able to enter all 4 levels of living space of my trunk. You'll be able to transport in and out, and have access to the control room."

He showed him the instruction book, which looked to be about 100 pages of parchment. "Of course, we're going to have to read all of this so we'll know what it's capable of doing."

Remus dropped into the chair beside him and let out a breath of amazement. "What else does this thing do?" he asked, flipping through the instruction book.

Harry explained everything that Mr. Tidwell had told him. He showed him how the screen could show what was happening on the outside of the trunk. As he turned the knobs on the panel, he was able to get a 180-degree visual.

"Mr. Tidwell told me that my grandfather got the idea for the panel and screen from muggle computers. And look at this, Remus," he said, hitting another knob on the panel. The outside visual disappeared, and a map of the world appeared in its place. Harry turned the knob until it was pointing over England. He zoomed in to London, then Grimmauld Place, and finally number 12. It was visible even through the fidelus charm.

"Now, watch this." The visual went through the roof of the house, and they were able to see the rooms inside. Harry navigated it down the stairs to Sirius's bedroom, then marked a point at the foot of the bed. "Program number 12 Grimmauld Place," he said aloud. "Confirm." The screen flashed red for a moment. "Travel to number 12 Grimmauld Place." He waited a moment, and then said, "Confirm." The screen again flashed red for a moment, and Harry turned off the map and turned on the visual. Turning the visual 180-degrees, they saw that the trunk was, in fact, inside Sirius's bedroom at the foot of his bed.

"We're actually at Grimmauld Place now?" Remus asked, surprised.

Harry grinned. "Yep. You didn't feel a thing, did you?"

"No, I didn't," he answered in amazement.

Harry turned to him. "Remus, you don't want to live at Grimmauld Place, and neither do I. This trunk is the safest place we can be. Why don't you pack your things and move in here with me? The trunk will be at Privet Drive, so the wards will renew, and my aunt and uncle will never know you're there. You'll be able to transport in and out whenever you need to. We'll buy food, and I'll ask Dobby to come stay with us and be our house elf. Inside this trunk, I can use magic, and no one will know. I can study and practice. You can read and research. We can even learn to make the wolfsbane potion, and you can use the Room of Requirement when you transform. You can do everything from here in safety."

He waited for Remus's reaction, but the werewolf seemed to be thinking about it, so Harry continued. "When we want to go somewhere, we'll just travel in the trunk. We can go anywhere in the world, Remus. We can disguise ourselves when we go out into the magical communities. Even at Hogwarts, we'll be able to move around anytime we need to. No one will know where you are, but you'll be able to send and receive owls. I just need to read how to do that. If you go on a mission for Dumbledore and you get injured or captured, all you have to do is think the word 'safe haven,' and it'll bring you back safely inside the trunk. It would be perfect, Remus. And neither one of us would be alone. We'd be a family. Please?"

Remus searched Harry's face for a moment, and then smiled. "I would love to," he said.

"Then, let's get out of the trunk and pack up Sirius's stuff. Can we get the motor cycle while we're here?"

Remus nodded, thoughtfully. "Yes, I can shrink the motorcycle, but are you sure about packing Sirius's things? It might be difficult going through . . . "

"No, I can do it. I'm fine. Besides, when we get everything packed, I need to talk to you about something else – an idea I've been working on."

"All right," he said, standing. "Then I guess we'd better get to work."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

After everything was packed, and Remus had retrieved and shrunk Sirius's motorcycle, they moved Remus's things into one of the bedrooms in the main living area. Harry placed all of Sirius's belongings in the bedroom next to Remus's room. He took the shrunken motorcycle out of his pocket and placed in on a shelf in the room. When everything was put away, they transported back to Remus's cottage.

Hedwig had arrived by then, and Harry brought her into the trunk and made sure she had plenty of food and water before he and Remus settled in front of the fireplace in the trunk's library.

"All right, Harry. What is this idea of yours?"

Harry hesitated for a moment, and then looked at Remus. "Promise me you'll hear me out before you say anything."

Remus nodded, warily.

"Right, then," Harry said, then stood up and began to pace in front of the fireplace. "Where to start."

Remus waited patiently, watching Harry pace back and forth. Finally, Harry threw himself into the chair across from Remus with a heavy sigh.

"Sirius fell through the veil one week ago tonight, right?"

Remus nodded.

"And that's not really enough time to cause an imbalance to the future. So, if you had a way to go back in time and rescue Sirius, but did it at the last minute so that it looked like he fell into the veil, but instead, you brought him into the trunk, would you do it?"

Remus sighed. "Harry . . ."

"No, wait. You said you'd hear me out. Just answer yes or no. Would you do it?"

Remus hesitated for a moment, and then nodded. "Yes."

"So, if you and I put our thoughts of everything that happened in the Death Chamber into the pensieve, we could watch it over and over and plan the perfect rescue. The trunk is capable of traveling through time, and I know that time travel can be dangerous, but if we planned everything out perfectly in advance, we could do it, Remus. What do you think?"

Remus placed steepled fingers over his mouth and looked thoughtful. Harry waited silently, afraid that if he made a sound, Remus would refuse. After a few moments, Remus let out a heavy sigh. "So, this is why you weren't upset at the reading of the will; why you've been happy since leaving Tidwell's. You were planning this already, weren't you?"

Harry nodded. "Sirius leaving us his money was perfect. When he comes back, he'll still have access to it, but you and I will be the ones taking it out of the bank. Not even the goblins will know he's back." He looked desperately into Remus's impassive features, leaned toward him, and spoke softly. "It's possible, Remus. We can do this."

Remus nodded slowly. "As long as you don't put yourself in danger, I'm willing to try it."

Harry jumped out of his chair with a yelp, ran to Remus, and threw his arms around him. "You're the best magical guardian in the whole world!"

Remus laughed and gently cuffed him on the back of the head. "And you are a cheeky brat, but I find that I like you, anyway."

Harry laughed and pulled Remus out of his chair. "Come on. Let's go get the instructions, then we'll get started on the pensieve."

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After over an hour of examining every angle of the fight in the Death Chamber of the Department of Mysteries, Harry and Remus had determined where each spell had fallen; the exact number of seconds it had taken from the time Sirius was hit until he fell through the veil; the exact time the battle had begun; where each person was standing and where the trunk should be placed. After carefully going over their plan, they entered the pensieve once more to make sure they were correct.

Finally, they came out of the pensieve for the final time. "I think we've got it," Harry said. "But even if we make a mistake, we can always try it again. This isn't a once in a life time thing."

"Unless we get ourselves killed," Remus cautioned. "But we need to do it as soon as possible. The longer we wait, the more chance we have of disrupting the time continuum."

"We should do it tonight," Harry said. "I just need to program Sirius into the trunk, then we can do it."

Remus frowned. "How are you going to do that, Harry? You had to have one my hairs for it to work with me."

"Exactly," Harry said, grinning. "Hang on. I'll be right back." He left through the door, and was back in less than three minutes, carrying a hairbrush. "I got this from Sirius's room. It still has his hair in it."

Remus followed him into the Control Room, and they sat down in front of the panel. Harry extracted a long, black hair from the brush, placed it over the recessed light, and covered it with his hand. "Sirius Orion Black. Levels 4 through 8 accesses. Control Room Access. Transportation Access. Safe Haven Access. Owl Access. Confirm." The light flashed red.

Harry picked up the gold chain, holding it firmly in his hand, then turned to Remus. "Let's do this."

Remus nodded.

Harry set the Time Travel controls for the date and time they wanted to go back to. He also shrunk the trunk and made it invisible, then set the controls to appear in a section of the chamber where no one would disturb it. When everything was ready, he pushed the Time Travel button and turned the screen on to see outside the trunk.

They only had to wait a few moments before people began to appear in the chamber. Harry saw himself and Neville run into the room, and then the Death Eaters appeared followed by Sirius, Remus, Tonks, and Kingsley Shacklebolt. He saw Tonks get hit with a spell and Sirius and Bellatrix begin their duel. Albus Dumbledore finally appeared, which was their cue. As Sirius began to taunt Bellatrix, Harry got ready. When the spell hit, Remus began the countdown.

"8 . . . 7 . . . 6 . . . 5 . . . 4"

Sirius had almost fallen into the veil when Harry shouted, "Safe Haven Sirius!"

They watched as Sirius disappeared. Bellatrix began to laugh, and outside the trunk, the Remus from the past held Harry, trying to keep him from following his godfather into the veil.

Remus jumped up and ran out of the control room, Harry following him. Sirius wasn't in the library, so they ran through the door into Level 5. There, Sirius sat on the floor of the lounge, looking around in confusion. Finally, he saw Remus and Harry staring at him as if he had grown a second head. "Where the hell am I?" he asked. "What the bloody hell happened?"

Remus and Harry began to laugh and cry at the same time. They rushed over to him and threw their arms around him. "What is this?" Sirius asked, confused. "Did I return from the dead or something?" This brought more hysterical laughter from the other two.

Finally, Harry stood up, wiping his eyes. "I've got to get us out of here. I'll be back in a minute." He rushed out of the room and ran to the Control Room to take them back to their proper time and place.

When he got back into the lounge, Sirius and Remus were seated on the sofa in front of the fire. Harry squeezed himself in between them and leaned up against Sirius. "I'm so glad you're back," he said softly.

Sirius put his arm around him and pulled him close. "Thanks, Harry. But, where have I been? And where are we now? How did I get here? What happened in the chamber? Would someone please explain, because I feel like I've lost my mind?"

Remus then explained everything that had happened in the DoM and the events that had followed. He explained in detail about Harry's trunk and the events that led to his rescue. When he was finished, Sirius sat quietly, his arm tightening around his godson. "Damn," he said at last. "Oh, damn. So, everybody thinks I'm dead?"

"No one knows that you're alive except for the three of us," Remus answered.

Sirius remained thoughtful.

"You know," Harry said, "You don't have to stay dead forever, but no one will be looking for you now. After we capture Wormtail, we'll have your name cleared and then you'll be free to come back from the dead. In the meantime, you don't have to stay at Grimmauld Place anymore. We've already packed your things and brought them here."

Sirius looked around the room. "And this is a trunk," he said unbelievingly.

"Yeah," Harry said, laughing. "We'll show you around. I can't wait for you to see Level 7."

The tour ended on Level 7, in the Room of Requirement. Harry changed the room into a swimming pool, and the three of them stripped down to their boxers, jumped in, and splashed around until the sun came up.

The next day, the three men slept until 11:00. After breakfast, Remus went into muggle London to shop for food while Harry shopped for some clothes that fit. Sirius went with Harry and bought himself and Moony some muggle clothes. After the shopping trip, they transported the trunk back to Remus's cottage just in time for lunch. They ate sandwiches at the kitchen table and talked about their plans for the day.

Before going back to Privet Drive, Harry wanted to remove everything from his old school trunk, only leaving Dudley's old clothes inside. He knew that when he arrived at the Dursley's, Uncle Vernon would lock his trunk in the cupboard under the stairs. This time, however, he would have everything he needed hidden inside his new trunk. He'd also have Remus and Sirius there with him. He was going to talk to Aunt Petunia at the first opportunity and work out a deal with her that would give him and his guardians some privacy.

After lunch, Harry unpacked his old trunk and placed all his belongings in his new bedroom while Sirius and Remus began unpacking the boxes they had brought from Remus's cottage and Grimmauld Place. Remus said that he would make a list of things they needed so they could equip the trunk to fit their needs. They also decided to do some decorating. Although the trunk was well furnished, they each wanted to add some personal touches to their bedrooms. Harry decided that decorating would be a great way to spend the required two-week stay at the Dursleys.


	5. Chapter 5

AN: In the language of Dobby and Winky, I want them to add an s to the word we. However, if I do that, the word looks like wes. Therefore, I am incorrectly using an apostrophe so that it will be more readable. Therefore, the word will be we's to make it plural, not a contraction for "we is." I hope that makes sense--in a warped sort of way.

Chapter 5

When Harry arrived at number 4 Privet Drive that evening, Uncle Vernon met him at the door. He pulled Harry in roughly and slammed the door. "What do you mean by getting here so late? You were supposed to be here yesterday!" he yelled.

"I called Aunt Petunia to let her know," he said defensively.

Vernon grabbed Harry's old school trunk and threw it into the cupboard. Grabbing Harry's arm, he dragged him upstairs, threw him into his bedroom, and slammed the door. Harry smiled, hearing the locks click outside the door. "And you'll stay in there the rest of the summer!" Vernon yelled.

Harry waited until he heard his uncle stomp down the stairs. "Yes!" He whispered, pumping his fist in the air. "Safe Haven!"

He found Sirius and Remus sitting in the lounge. "So, how did it go with your uncle?" Remus asked.

"Great!" he said, flopping down on the couch happily. "I'm locked in my room for the rest of the summer with nothing to eat but stale bread, cold soup, and tepid water that Aunt Petunia will slide through the cat flap once a day." He grabbed a biscuit from the tin on the table and bit into it contentedly.

Sirius and Remus glanced at each other, and then grinned. "Congratulations," Sirius offered.

"Thanks. I couldn't be happier." He poured himself a cup of tea and added two cubes of sugar and some milk. "So, what are our plans? Do we start decorating or what?"

"We thought we might start doing that tomorrow," Remus said. "But we also talked about getting an early start on making the wolfsbane potion. If we bollix it up, I can always pay Severus to make it the first time. But after that, I want us to be able to do it ourselves. So, I thought we'd all work on it."

"Right," Harry said. "And on full moon nights, Moony and Padfoot can run around the Forbidden Forest in the Room of Requirement."

Sirius grinned. "Like old times, Moony."

Remus nodded, smiling. "Also, we need to read the instructions for the trunk so we'll know everything the trunk is capable of and how to use it."

"I want to set up some home bases," Harry said. "Maybe we could buy a place in Canada or the United States. We could look for a place out in the country and set up the fidelius charm and muggle repellant charms. That way, we'd have a place where we would be safe and wouldn't have to stay hidden all the time. We could go there on holidays."

"Yeah, we could find something with a magical community nearby for shopping," Sirius added.

"We wouldn't have to use elaborate disguises in North America," Remus said. "We'd just need to hide your scar, Harry, and perhaps shorten your hair, Sirius. Maybe both of you should lighten your hair a little."

"Ah, freedom!" Sirius exclaimed.

"We could also rent storage facilities in muggle areas of different cities around the world to use as home bases," Harry said, excitedly. "We could spend a couple of days in Rome, a couple in Paris, a few in Greece, a week in Australia! We could go anywhere we've ever wanted without leaving home!"

"I've heard the girls sunbathe topless on the French Riviera," Sirius commented.

"We could go there," Harry said casually, causing his guardians to laugh.

"We need to charm the trunk to receive owls," Remus said. "Your friends will be writing soon, and I'll be getting mail from the Order."

"I'll get the book," Harry said, getting up and going to retrieve the instructions. When he returned, he turned to the front, which showed a Table of Contents. The instructions for sending and receiving owls were on pages 6 and 7. Harry turned to page 6 and began to read.

"Before we can receive owls, we need to set up a home base," he said after a few minutes. "I thought we might use the Dursley's attic because no one ever goes up there."

"Why not just use your room?" Remus asked.

"According to the book, if I set up a home base at the Dursleys and charm it so that owls deliver my letters there, then even if I'm gone, the wards will show that I'm living there. They'll be strengthened even if I don't return next year or spend the entire two weeks there. So I'd rather use the attic so the Dursleys can't see the owls. And if we need to return for any reason, they won't know I'm back."

Remus nodded thoughtfully. "But I thought we could charm the trunk for the owls to deliver messages here."

"You have to charm an area outside the trunk for the owls to fly to, like a specific window or something. The window doesn't even have to be open. When an owl gets within a meter of the charmed area, it's transported inside the trunk. Any owl we send out will be transported from the trunk to within a meter of the charmed area. And from there, it will deliver the message."

"Clever," said Sirius, impressed.

Remus frowned. "Can we charm the window to receive both our mail?"

"We could, but if we do, the wards Dumbledore put on the house will show that you're here. We could charm a window in Grimmauld Place, though, or your cabin, since members of the Order will be using the house."

Remus nodded. "We could also use the cabin as a second home base. It's in the country, and there aren't any other houses close by."

"Which means," Sirius added. "We could actually go outside and get some fresh air."

"Could we put the property under the fidelius charm?" Harry asked.

"Owls wouldn't be able to get through, then," Remus said. "Not unless it was from someone who –"

"According to the book," Harry interrupted. "We can charm it so that owls will still be able to deliver. They'll just be transported a meter from the property instead of using a window."

Remus looked stunned. "Your grandfather was a genius, Harry."

Harry nodded, then said seriously. "That must be who I inherited it from."

Remus and Sirius laughed. "You definitely got your modesty from your Dad," Sirius said, throwing a cushion at him.

Harry caught the cushion and put it behind his back. "The book also says that the mail will be scanned for portkeys, tracking charms, and dark magic before the owls are transported into the trunk. It will refuse anything dangerous. The owls carrying something like that will just return the mail to the sender."

"He thought of everything," Sirius said. Harry and Remus nodded their agreement.

"Well, let's get your window and home base set up in the attic, Harry," Remus said. "Then, we'll move the trunk to my parent's house and set up the wards and charms."

Charming the attic and window involved leaving the trunk and placing magical runes around the window and the section of the attic in which the trunk would return. The charms were complex, and Harry had never taken Ancient Runes, but with Remus's help, it didn't take long to complete the work.

The next morning, Harry went downstairs to talk with his aunt. Vernon was at work, and Dudley was out terrorizing the neighborhood with his friends. Petunia was sitting at the dining room table sipping a cup of tea and reading a magazine. Harry sat down at the place across from her.

"Aunt Petunia, I need to talk to you about something," he said. "I think we could work out a deal that would make everyone here happy."

She looked up at him curiously, and then nodded for him to continue.

"I want to leave here. I want to go live with my magical guardian. But in order to keep the wards up, to protect you, Dudley, and Uncle Vernon from Death Eaters and Voldemort, you couldn't tell anyone outside the family that I was gone. Also, before I left, you would have to agree to let me consider this my home, even though I promise never to come back. That way, the wards will stay up and you and your family could live happily without me, and I could be happy with my guardian."

"What about Dumbledore? Does he know about this?"

"No. He can't know. He has to believe that I'm here."

"What if he comes here to see you? Or sends someone else?"

Harry sighed. "Aunt Petunia, I've lived here for almost 15 years, and with the exception of my friend Ron and his family, no one from the magical world has ever come here to check on me. But just in case, I'll write to Dumbledore and tell him that no one is to come to this house. I'll tell him that I'm going to stay here for the summer, and Uncle Vernon will take me to the train station on September the first."

Petunia looked thoughtful for a moment, and then nodded. "All right. But I want you to leave a letter here for Dumbledore in case something goes wrong. I want you to tell him that you left of your own free will so that he doesn't think that Vernon or I had anything to do with your disappearance."

"I can do that, if you'll promise not to give it to anyone unless they find out I'm not here and try to blame you or Uncle Vernon for it."

"All right," she said. "When are you leaving?"

"As soon as I write the letter for you. You won't see me leave because I have to sneak out. Dumbledore has people watching the house."

Petunia turned back to her magazine. "All right. Bring me the letter when you get it written."

After leaving Privet Drive, Harry's guardians placed the fidelius charm on Remus's house and charmed it to be a second home base. The official name became Home Base 2. They also charmed the area around the property to deliver owl post to the trunk. They persuaded Sirius to be the secret keeper, since everyone thought he was dead, and therefore no one would suspect him.

Over the next several days, they cleaned, painted, and repaired the cottage and furniture. They also worked in the garden, took walks through the woods, and flew their broomsticks around the property. Although they were actually living in the trunk, they didn't want Remus's childhood home to fall into disrepair.

Harry also worked on decorating his bedroom. He painted the walls, hung posters, placed his books and pictures on shelves, put his new clothes in the closet and chest of drawers, placed his inks, quills, and parchment on his desk, and put his toothbrush and bath products in the bathroom. This was the first time he could remember having a place to put his things without fear of them being disturbed or destroyed. He placed a perch for Hedwig in the library and charmed her so that she could enter any room in the trunk. Her favorite was, of course, the conservatory. He also made it possible for her to leave the trunk when she wanted to hunt for food.

Harry received letters from his friends and wrote back to them. He told them that his relatives were leaving him alone and that he was having the best summer he had ever spent at the Dursleys. Since he had just completed his OWL year, there was no summer homework, but in his spare time, he helped Remus and Sirius work on the wolfsbane potion, and he and his guardians read and studied the book of instructions for the trunk.

Since they had worked so hard over the past week, they decided they would go on holiday two days after the full moon, giving Remus time to recover.

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The wolfsbane potion had been a success, it seemed, and so Remus bravely took a dose the night before and the night of the full moon. Half an hour before the moon rose, he and Sirius went into the Room of Requirement, which had become a replica of the Forbidden Forrest.

It was Harry's first night alone in the trunk. Harry decided to spend the evening learning more about the trunk. He settled himself in front of the fire in the living room, turned to the Table of Contents in the front of the instruction book, and read.

Instructions for the Potter Traveling Trunk

Understanding the Safe Haven . . . 1-2

Securing/Changing/Adding a Home Base . . . 3-5

Sending and Receiving Owls . . . 6-7

Adding New Residents . . .8-10

Expanding and Adding Rooms or Compartments . . . 11-13

Shrinking and Invisibility . . . 14

Defensive Charms . . . 15-18

Offensive Spells . . . 19-29

Espionage (Observing/Listening/Photographing/Recording) . . . 30-32

Traveling from Place to Place . . . 33

Traveling through Time . . . 34

Traveling to and through Other Dimensions . . . 35-37

Transporting and Transport Keys . . . 38-40

Room of Requirement . . . 41-46

Control Room . . . 47-50

Potions Lab . . . 51-54

Conservatory . . . 55-59

Medical Facilities . . . 60-67

Library . . . 68-74

Charles William Potter's Portrait . . . 75

Miscellaneous . . . 76-100

Expanding and Adding Rooms or Compartments sounded interesting, so Harry turned to page 11.

_The duplication or resizing of compartments (a compartment would be an entire floor or level of the trunk) or rooms does not increase the size of the trunk, since the rooms of the trunk are in a separate dimension. Therefore, new dimensions can be added. Any room or entire compartment of the trunk can be duplicated or increased in size. Say, for example, you need more guest rooms. You can duplicate the 6__th__ compartment either permanently or temporarily thereby providing the trunk with an additional 8 bedrooms and bathrooms. Or if you are using the 7__th__ compartment Room of Requirement for an extended period of time, you can duplicate it and have a second Room of Requirement to use for another purpose. The only rooms that cannot be duplicated are the control room and those that can only be accessed by a member of the Potter family. Should you duplicate the library, the books will not be duplicated. Therefore, you will be at liberty to add your own books to the second library. _

_To duplicate or resize a compartment or a room, select the specific room or compartment on the control panel, and then push the duplicate or increase size button. When resizing an area to certain specifications, set the controls to the appropriate measurements before pushing the increase button. Otherwise the area will double, as that is the default option. The room will remain changed for as long as you desire. Multiple compartments can be duplicated simultaneously. There are no limits to the size the inside of the trunk can become. _

_It is possible to allow temporary residents, who use the trunk as a safe haven, limited access to the trunk by assigning them to a specific compartment or room, including a duplicated area. For information on limited access, read pages 8 through 10._

Harry could think of several people he would like to limit access to, but he would think about that later. He did wonder about the rooms that could only be accessed by a Potter. So far, both Sirius and Remus had been able to enter all the rooms. He turned to page 75. His grandfather's portrait had not yet activated, and he wondered if there was something he was supposed to do. It would be nice to talk with him and learn about his family. He began to read:

_The portrait of Charles William Potter will activate automatically at my death, but only after a member of the Potter family takes possession of the trunk. _

Harry frowned and turned the page. That was all there was.

"That's odd," he said aloud, glancing up at the portrait. He was quite sure he was a Potter. The proof was in front of him. He looked like his father and grandfather, and he had his mother's eyes. And he knew that his grandfather was dead. Maybe it took a while for the portrait to discover there was a member of the family living in the trunk. Or maybe it was because they had spent so much time outside the trunk while restoring Remus's house.

He took the instruction book back into the control room and sat down at the panel. He moved the controls to travel to Hogwart's kitchen. He still had to talk to Dobby about coming to live with him. He was pretty sure he could work out a deal.

Dobby was thrilled to work for the great Harry Potter. Harry would pay him 5 galleons a week and Dobby would have two days off. But the deal was that Winky had to come, too. Looking at the drunken house elf in her filthy clothes, Harry wondered if it wouldn't be better to forget the whole thing. Dobby saw Harry's look of uncertainty.

"Harry Potter must be firm with Winky," Dobby whispered. "You must order her to stop drinking butterbeer, to take a bath, and to wear clean clothes."

"Dobby, I'm not sure—"

"Harry Potter would be good for Winky. Winky needs to be proper house elf with proper family. Winky is good house elf."

Harry sighed and went over to where the small elf was sitting in the corner. "Winky, do you want to come work for me?" he asked.

She stared up at him with big, sad eyes. "Master Harry would make Winky his house elf?" she asked.

"If you would like," he said. "But if you accept, you can't drink anymore butterbeer, Winky, and you'll have to take a bath and put on something clean. Are you willing to do that?"

Tears formed in her eyes and she stood up, leaving the half-empty bottle on the floor. "Oh, yes, Master! Winky good elf! No more butterbeer. Winky want to go with Master now."

Harry turned to Dobby. "Do you need to give Professor Dumbledore a notice or anything?"

"No, Harry Potter, Sir. Dobby and Winky free elves. We's come and go as we like. We's ready to go with Harry Potter now."

Harry let the elves into the trunk and moved it back to Remus's house. He showed them to their room near the kitchen. "It's more of a dormitory right now," he said. "But it's pretty big, and it's yours to do with as you like. You can separate it into rooms and make an apartment, if you like. If you want it to be bigger, let me know, and I'll increase the size."

Dobby and Winky looked around the room in awe. "Harry Potter, Sir, this is the best house elf room we's ever seen!"

"Well, it's all yours. Like I said, fix it up any way you want. You'll be living here, and I want you to be happy."

Two house elves grabbed him around the knees in a hug. "Oh, thank you, Master!" Winky said. "We's make good home for Dobby and Winky and little ones."

"Little ones?" Harry asked, confused.

"Winky and Dobby are mates," Dobby told him. "We is trying to make babies."

Harry felt himself blush. "Oh, well, that's—that's great, Dobby. Congratulations to both of you."

"Oh, we's not have little ones, yet, Harry Potter. We just trying to—"

"Yes, well—" he interrupted quickly, not wanting any details. "I need to get to bed. Remus and Sirius are in the Room of Requirement. There's a full moon tonight, so don't go in there. And don't go in the control room, but feel free to move around the rest of the house, I mean, trunk, and do whatever you need to do. Good night," he said, leaving the kitchen quickly.

"Good night, Harry Potter!" they called after him.


	6. Chapter 6

AN: I have proofread these chapters a zillion times, but if you find anything I missed, such as a misspelled word or a type-o or anything, please let me know so I can correct it. I know how errors can ruin the enjoyment of a story. Thanks. Tamara

Chapter 6

The first batch of wolfsbane potion had been a success. Remus was tired, but well, the next morning. The morning after the full moon, Harry and his guardians had the best breakfast he had eaten since he left Hogwarts. Winky had bathed and put on a clean, white pillowcase. She quickly cooked and served breakfast. Then, after Harry ordered them to, she and Dobby joined them for breakfast.

Two days later, the new marauders, as they now referred to themselves, went on holiday. Harry had never had so much fun in his life. They spent two days each in Rome, Venice, and the French Riviera. It was true that women sunbathed topless.

Harry spent his days on the Riviera lying on a blanket, pretending to read while watching the sunbathers. "I should have bought contact lenses," he complained. "I can't see anything through these sunglasses, and there's too much glare on my regular glasses." He was lying on his stomach, pretending to read a book, which he couldn't see without his glasses.

"Next time we come to the Riviera, you'll be prepared," Sirius assured him, smiling at Harry's attempt to watch the girls without being obvious.

Remus and Sirius were sitting on towel-covered canvas lounge chairs. Remus was actually reading a book, while Sirius looked out over the water, sipping a mimosa.

"Here, Harry," Remus said, reaching his hand out. "Give me your regular glasses and I'll transform the lenses into sunglasses."

Harry sat up on his towel and glared at Remus. "Now you tell me?" He dug his glasses out of a beach bag and gave them to Remus.

When Remus had performed the spell, he put them on. "I'm going for a swim," Harry said, standing up. He dropped his old sunglasses on the blanket and started toward the water. Unfortunately, or fortunately as the case may be, he ran into one of the topless women who was passing by the Marauders.

She was tall enough that his face hit her right between her breasts. "Oh, God," he said, backing away, yet unable to take his eyes off her breasts, his face turning as red as a tomato. "I'm so sorry."

Sirius spewed out a mouthful of mimosa. Remus raised his book over the bottom half of his face, trying to hide his laughter.

The woman ruffled his hair. "Is okay, mon petit. No one was 'urt."

"Um, right, then," Harry said, continuing to slowly back away from her. "I'm just . . . um . . . going . . . somewhere else, now."

Laughing, the woman pulled him into a hug, squashing his face against her large breasts. Harry's eyes grew wide and, if possible, his face turned even redder.

"Right," he said, when she let him go. "Um, thank you . . . for that." He turned quickly, ran to the water, and jumped in.

Remus and Sirius almost fell out of their chairs laughing. "Now, that," said Sirius, "Was a pensieve moment."

The next two days were spent in Greece. The last four days, including Harry's birthday, were spent in Hawaii.

On the night of his 16th birthday, Remus and Sirius arranged for a traditional luau. There were hula dancers, fire dancers, music, and a huge feast. They ate, drank, and danced late into the night. Harry even donned a grass skirt over his shorts and danced the hula with the ladies.

"I hope that somewhere up there, James and Lily can see this," Sirius said wistfully, enjoying the sight of his godson acting so silly.

"If they are, Lily's probably trying to curse us for letting Harry drink so much tonight," Remus said.

"He needs this, Moony. He's never had the opportunity to be a kid, and we don't know how much longer he'll have before Voldemort makes another move. I say we give him a holiday at every opportunity."

"I agree, Padfoot. I've never seen him acting so carefree. His life should have always been like this."

Harry looked over and waved at them.

"Keep laughing, Remus," Sirius said, chuckling. "Don't let him think we've been discussing anything serious."

Remus laughed and stood up, pulling Sirius up with him. "Come on. Let's grab a couple of grass skirts and join the chorus line."

The next day, their holiday ended. Harry had bought souvenirs for all his friends from every place they had visited. He couldn't wait to give Ron the picture postcard of the French Riviera.

On the first of August, the day Harry and his guardians returned from their holiday, he received both his Hogwart's letter and OWL results. There was also a letter from Professor McGonagall asking him to accept the Quidditch captain position. Katie Bell, her letter informed him, had refused the position because she needed to study for NEWTs. However, she would remain on the team and help Harry as much as possible until a new team could be selected.

After his guardians went to bed, he sat in the living room, reading over his OWL results. They had taken him out to dinner in Paris to celebrate. He had passed all of them, even Divination, but his E in potions was not good enough to get him into Snape's Advanced Potions class. He was disappointed that he would have to give up being an auror, but he didn't mind not having to have a class with the greasy git. Yet, McGonagall had promised to do everything she could to help him become an auror. Maybe she could talk Snape into letting him in.

He had made Os in both Defense and Care of Magical Creatures; Es in Charms, Transfigurations, and Potions; and As in History, Astronomy, Herbology, and Divinations. Nine owls were pretty good. He had written Hermione and Ron immediately to let them know. Now, he had to let McGonagall know what classes he was going to take next year and that he would, indeed, accept the position of Quidditch captain. He decided to drop Divination, Astronomy, History, and Care of Magical Creatures. He knew Hagrid would be upset, but if McGonagall did as she promised and got him into potions, along with the captaincy of the Quidditch team and DA, 5 classes would be almost more than he could handle.

"Ah, I see you've gotten your OWL results."

Harry whirled around, looking for the owner of the voice.

"Up here," said the voice, with a chuckle. "Did you forget about my portrait?"

Harry looked up at the portrait of his grandfather, who was smiling down at him.

"Oh, hello, Grandfather," Harry said. "No. In fact, I was wondering when I would be able to talk to you."

His grandfather laughed. "You don't have to be so formal, Harry. When you were a baby, you called me Ganda and your grandmother Gan. I think you were trying to say Granddad and Gran, but you had a bit of trouble pronouncing the letter r. Of course, you were only a year old. We were quite proud of you."

Harry grinned up at the portrait of his grandfather. "I've always wondered what it would be like to have grandparents. It's nice to finally be able to talk to you, Granddad."

The portrait cleared his throat, looking pleased but a bit embarrassed. "So, how did you do on your OWLs?"

Harry grinned. "I got 9. Two Os, three Es, and four As. I passed everything."

"That's quite an accomplishment. What were your Os in?"

"Defense Against the Dark Arts and Care of Magical Creatures. I'm hoping to be an auror."

His grandfather grinned. "Just like your father and godfather, then."

"Dad and Sirius were aurors?" Harry asked, surprised.

His grandfather looked at him thoughtfully. Harry thought he detected a look of sadness. "Are you alone here?"

"No, but I'm the only one up. Everyone else is in bed."

His grandfather nodded seriously. "I have something I want to show you."

Harry wondered if he was finally going to learn about the rooms that only a Potter could enter.

"This is a little Potter secret," his grandfather said. "Do you have your wand with you?"

Harry nodded, removing his wand from his pocket and showing it to his grandfather.

"Very good." His grandfather took his own wand out of his pocket. "Harry, watch my wand movement, then I want you to copy it."

Harry watched as his grandfather made a complicated wand movement. He tried to copy it, but it took him several tries before he finally got it right.

"Now, I want you to make that wand movement in front of my portrait, then tap each corner of the frame and say 'Reveal your secrets.'"

Harry had to drag a chair from the dining room to stand on so he could reach the top corners of the frame. He followed his grandfather's instructions, and the frame swung open revealing a large wall safe behind the portrait. His grandfather gave him the combination, and he opened the safe.

"This is a muggle safe," Harry said, surprised.

"Yes, it is, but it's also charmed to only open for a Potter. Muggle items are quite useful when you're dealing with Death Eaters, Harry. How many pure blood wizards do you know who could figure out what this is?"

Harry laughed and looked inside the safe. There was only one sheet of blank parchment. "There's nothing in here, Granddad," he said. "Only a sheet of parchment."

"Take the parchment out, Harry. Do you know the password to your father's map? The one he calls the Marauder's Map?"

Harry grinned and took out the parchment. He tapped it, saying, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." Writing began to appear, and Harry read:

_The Potter Family Room is located in the library behind the bookshelf on the north wall. To access it, turn the wall sconce on the right of the bookshelf and the room will appear._

"Mischief managed," Harry said, tapping the parchment, then placed it back in the safe. He closed the safe, and then swung the portrait back in place, hopped off the chair, and took it back to the dining room. When he returned, his grandfather was no longer in the portrait. "Granddad?" he called.

"Down here, Harry."

Harry looked at the mantle and saw a small picture frame, which had been empty earlier. His grandfather now appeared in the small frame. "Now you can take me into the library with you," his grandfather said.

Harry picked up the frame and went into the library. He stopped in the middle of the room, looking around in confusion. "Um, Granddad, since this trunk can be facing in any direction, how do I know which is the north side of the library?"

His grandfather chuckled. "That's a good question, Harry, and it's also another way of preventing anyone from knowing exactly where the room is. But I'll give you a little hint. In which direction does the sun rise?"

"The east," said Harry, looking around the room for a painting or picture of a sunrise or sunset.

"I'll give you another hint. Go over to the bookcase behind the desk and tell me the name of the first book on the top shelf."

Harry had to climb on top of the desk to read the name of the book. "The Sun Also Rises, by Ernest Hemmingway," he said. He looked thoughtful for a moment, then realization hit. "Oh!" He jumped off the desk and turned to the left. He went over to the wall sconce on the right and turned it.

The bookcase opened, and Harry saw a door that contained no doorknob. He placed his hand on the door to push, but before he could put any pressure on it, the door swung open.

"It only opens for a Potter," his grandfather explained as they entered the room. "And I suppose you've guessed by now that the room is hidden under the fidelius charm. Turn the wall sconce beside the door and that will close the door and move the bookcase back to its proper position."

Harry turned the sconce, closing himself inside the room, then looked around.

The Potter Family Room was quite large. The first thing that Harry noticed were the portraits that hung on the walls. Hanging side by side over a large fireplace were two portraits. One was a portrait of his grandparents and the other was of his parents with himself at about the age of one. Baby Harry was sitting on his mother's lap, sucking his thumb, his green eyes watching every move he made. Suddenly, baby Harry pointed at 16-year-old Harry and said, "Da!"

Harry watched as his parents laughed. His father reached down and took baby Harry out of his mother's arms. "That's not Da," he said. "That's you! See? You're all grown up!"

Harry stared at the painting, his eyes filling with tears. There he was in the portrait being held by his parents. "Mum?" he whispered. "Dad?"

His mother smiled at him. "We've been waiting for you, Harry," she said softly, tears brimming in her own eyes. "Waiting and hoping that you'd come to let us know that you were safe."

"Mum," he whispered again, slowly moving toward the portrait. He reached out and gently touched her cheek. It felt like a painting, but there she was, smiling and talking to him. He drew his hand back, tears rolling down his face.

"Harry," his grandfather said, drawing his attention away from his mother.

Harry wiped his face with his sleeve. "Yes, sir?"

"I want to introduce you to your grandmother. Harry, this is Anna Potter, also known as Gran."

His grandmother had red hair, and Harry thought about what Sirius had once said about Potter men being attracted to red-haired women. He also thought about Ginny before quickly pushing that thought out of his mind. "Hello, Harry," she said, smiling gently.

"Hello, Gran," he said. "It's very nice to meet you."

His grandfather cleared his throat to get his attention. "Now that you know about this room, you can apparate to it. You don't have to use the sconces."

"Oh," Harry said, taking a handkerchief out of his pocket and wiping his nose. "I don't know how to apparate yet. Yesterday was my birthday. I'm 16 now."

His grandfather looked surprised. "Thomas gave you the trunk before you were of age?"

Harry explained to his grandfather why, according to Mr. Tidwell, he had given Harry the trunk before his 17th birthday.

His grandfather looked thoughtful. "Well, you can always use the door behind the bookcase until you learn. Just don't let anyone else see you use it. All right?"

Harry nodded.

"Why don't you sit down?"

Harry sat down on the sofa in front of the fireplace, looking up at the two portraits.

"Harry, do you know about the prophecy?"

"Yes, sir. Dumbledore told me about a month ago."

"When we heard the prophecy, I had this trunk commissioned. It was so we could go into hiding to keep you and the rest of us safe. I'm assuming, since the portrait didn't activate until now, that you're the last Potter."

Harry looked at his parents and nodded guiltily. His parents smiled at him sadly.

"We'd like to hear the entire story about what happened, Harry, if you would tell us. The last thing that any of us remember is sometime just after your first birthday. Can you fill us in from that point?"

Harry sighed deeply. "I only know what I've been told, beginning on the night that—beginning the night I got this scar," he said, brushing his hair back and showing them his forehead.

"Start there, then, Sweetheart," his mother said. "It's all right. Take your time."

"It was on Halloween," Harry said. "In 1981. I was 15 months old. You and Dad had taken me and gone into hiding. The house at Godric's Hollow was placed under the fidelius charm, and everyone thought that Sirius was the secret keeper. But at the last minute, you had changed it to be Peter Pettigrew because Sirius was such an obvious choice, and no one would have suspected Pettigrew. Anyway, Pettigrew was the spy. He was a Death Eater, but no one knew it. He betrayed us to Voldemort. We had been under the fidelius charm for a week when Voldemort came to the house." He stopped, staring at his clutched hands in his lap. The portraits were quiet, waiting for him to continue. Even baby Harry was silent.

Harry took another deep breath. "I don't remember it, but when I'm near dementors, I hear it," he said softly. "Dad said, 'Lily, I'll hold him off. Take Harry and go.' Mum must have gone upstairs to get me from my room. The door crashed open and Dad fought, but—but Voldemort cursed him with the avada kedavra. Next, he came upstairs where Mum and I were in the nursery. He told her to stand aside, but she said, 'No! Not Harry! Take me! Kill me instead!' and Voldemort told her again to move, but she wouldn't, so—the avada kedavra curse hit her, too. Then, Voldemort turned his wand on me and hit me with the same curse on the forehead. For some reason, the curse rebounded off me, only leaving this scar, but it hit Voldemort and knocked his soul from his body. After that, I was famous. I was known throughout the Wizarding world as "the-boy-who-lived." Most everyone thought Voldemort was dead, and that I had killed him, but he wasn't. He just roamed the earth without a body until last year when Pettigrew performed a ritual, using my blood, to give him a new body. Now, he's back, and he's just as terrifying as ever. Only, less human, according to Dumbledore."

He glanced up at his parents' portrait timidly to see their reactions. James was staring at him, a look of both sadness and shock on his face. Tears were running down Lily's face, and she looked at Harry with such compassion that he wished he could run to her and be held in her arms.

"So, who's in the trunk with you, Harry?" his grandfather asked.

"Sirius and Remus."

"So you went to live with Sirius after—after that night?" James asked, hopefully.

Harry shook his head. "Everyone thought Sirius was the secret keeper. He went to Azkaban for 12 years. Pettigrew framed him, accused him of betraying us in front of witnesses, then blew up the street killing 13 muggles, transformed into a rat, and left down the sewer. He cut off his finger before he left, faking his own death. They thought that Sirius had killed you, Pettigrew, and 13 muggles. They never even gave him a trial. He escaped the summer before my third year at Hogwarts. He's been in hiding ever since. A little over a month ago, he was trying to defend me in the Department of Mysteries, and his cousin Bellatrix hit him with a curse. He fell backwards into the Veil in the Death Chamber."

His mother gasped. His dad and grandparents stared at him in horror.

"The day I left Hogwarts at the end of last term was exactly a week after Sirius died. It's also the day Mr. Tidwell gave me this trunk. That night, Remus and I went back in time and rescued Sirius just before he fell into the Veil. No one knows about it. Everyone still thinks he's dead. He's going to stay that way until we capture Pettigrew and get his name cleared. He and Remus are living here with me in the trunk."

"And Pettigrew?" his grandfather asked.

"Voldemort's right-hand man."

"Damn that little rat!" James shouted.

"Unbelievable!" his grandfather said, angrily.

"How could he?" his grandmother asked. "After all the time he spent at our house with James, Sirius, and Remus! How could he betray them?"

"Because he's a coward," Harry said. "He betrayed us all so that Voldemort wouldn't kill him."

"Does anyone know how you lived through the killing curse, Harry?" his grandfather asked.

"Dumbledore thinks that it's some sort of ancient magic, that when Mum sacrificed herself for me, it protected me in some way. He also thinks that when Voldemort gave me this scar, he unintentionally gave me some of his magic. For example, I'm a parselmouth because Voldemort was a parselmouth."

His grandmother looked thoughtful. "That may not be entirely true, Harry. My father spoke parseltongue. It's more likely that you inherited it from him."

"Your father? I'm sorry, I don't know anything about my family."

"My father was Michael Flamel, several times great grandson of Nicholas Flamel. My mother was Alice Dumbledore, the daughter of Albus Dumbledore."

Harry stared at her in shock. "Dumbledore's my great-great grandfather?"

She nodded, smiling.

"Does he know?"

"Of course he does. When you were a baby, you called him Gampa."

"Nobody's ever told me!" he said, furiously. "Why didn't he tell me? Why did he make me grow up with the Dursleys?"

"You were raised by Petunia and Vernon?" Lily asked, horrified.

"I'm not sure raised would be the correct word," he said, still angry with Dumbledore. "They kept me in a cupboard under the stairs, only letting me out to do chores. That was my home until Hagrid rescued me and took me to Hogwarts when I was 11."

"You spent 10 years in a cupboard?" James asked furiously.

Harry nodded. He was beginning to feel a little guilty about telling his parents something they could do nothing about. "But they gave me Dudley's second bedroom after I got my letter from Hogwarts. They treated me better after that."

He turned to his grandmother. "But why did Dumbledore make me think I had no other family? Why didn't he tell me he was my great-great-grandfather?"

"The same reason that no one ever knew I was his granddaughter," she answered, smiling gently. "He worried that his enemies would use his family to get to him. After his wife and oldest daughter were killed, he took my mother to be raised by the Flamels. Of course, he visited her as often as he could, but she went to Hogwarts under the name of Alice Prewitt, which was my grandmother's maiden name."

"Was your grandmother related to Fabian, Gideon, and Molly Prewitt?" Harry asked.

She smiled. "My grandmother was Elizabeth Prewitt, Molly's great-aunt. Of course, when she married my grandfather, she became Elizabeth Dumbledore. Molly married a Weasley, I believe."

"Oh, no!" Harry groaned. "I'm related to the Weasleys!"

"Is that a problem?" his mother asked.

"No. I love the Weasleys. Ron Weasley is my best friend. It's just that . . . well . . . his sister, Ginny . . ."

"Ah," his dad said, smiling. "Young love."

"Well, I don't know if it's love. I just think she's, well, pretty, I guess. Ginny doesn't know, but . . . it doesn't really matter now," he said, thoroughly depressed.

"Actually, Molly's children are very distant cousins, Harry," his grandmother said. "They are hardly any relation at all. If you wanted to date young Ginny, there wouldn't be a problem with it."

"Really?" he asked hopefully.

She laughed. "Really. Purebloods marry cousins all the time. It wouldn't be proper to marry a 1st cousin. That would be too closely related, but 6th cousins would be all right."

Harry looked thoughtful. "That's good to know," he said. "You know, just in case."

"So," his grandfather said, changing the subject, "Anna and I did not go into hiding with James and Lily, then."

Harry shook his head. "Remus told me that Gran died about a month before we went into hiding. I'm sorry, Gran, I don't know the name of the disease, but Remus said it was of natural causes. He said that you, Granddad, had planned to go into hiding with us, but that you disappeared the night before they were to put the fidelius charm on the house, and that no one ever found out what happened to you. Mum and Dad wanted to wait until they found you, but Dumbledore insisted that we hide immediately. He said the Order would keep searching for you, and when they found you, they'd arrange it so that you could join us."

His grandfather looked thoughtful. "How very strange," he said quietly, as if talking to himself. Then he looked up at Harry and smiled. "Well, let us tell you more about this room," he said. "You will find that this trunk will actually help you fight Voldemort and his Death Eaters. The bookcase on your left contains our research. Your mother's written several books on charms and transfiguration. Your father's written about offensive and defensive spells. Your grandmother has written about herbology and potions. And I've written about my research on . . . other things. These are the only copies in existence. No one else has access to them.

"On the wall to your right, behind those doors, you'll find a storage room. It's filled with everything we would need while in hiding. There are enough galleons to last several years. When you're 17, you'll inherit the Potter vaults, but until that time, if you need money, use what's in here. You can always convert the galleons into muggle money if you need to.

"We each have an extra wand in the storage area. And there are files on all the known Death Eaters from our time. You'll want to add to those files. We will show you how to get information and how to spy on Voldemort and his Death Eaters. We'll also teach you how to stun, restrain, and capture Death Eaters without leaving the trunk, how to question them under veritaserum, and where to incarcerate them once you've captured them."

For the next hour or so, Harry learned more about the trunk, the Potter room, his family, and himself than he had ever imagined possible. And his family learned more about him. He told them about his life at Hogwarts, including his adventures and escapes from Voldemort.

He even told his family about his holiday with Sirius and Remus, with the exception of his embarrassing experience at the French Riviera.

Baby Harry's eyes had lit up hearing the names of his guardians. "Unca Daddy! Unca Mooey!" he cried happily, clapping his hands.

James rolled his eyes. "Don't get him started," he pleaded. The others laughed.

Before he realized it, it was well after midnight, and he was exhausted.

"Get some sleep, Sweetheart," his mother said, gently. "We can talk again tomorrow."

As he lay in bed that night, going over some of the things they had talked about, he suddenly sat straight up in bed in shock. "Dumbledore's my great-great-grandfather!"


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

The next morning, Harry sat at breakfast with his guardians. He wanted to tell them about the portraits of his parents in the Potter room, but he knew he couldn't because the room was under the fidelius. He decided to ask his parents if they could visit other portraits in the trunk so his guardians could talk to them.

"Why are you so quiet this morning, Harry?" Remus asked.

"Huh?" he answered, snapping out of his mental wandering. "Oh, sorry. I guess I'm not awake yet."

"Stay up late?" Sirius asked.

"Yeah. I was trying to learn more about the trunk." Not a lie, just not the whole truth, he thought.

"Did you learn anything interesting?" Remus asked.

"Oh, yeah. There's a whole section on charms and spells you can use without leaving the trunk. It's pretty interesting."

"Hmmm. I think I'd like to read that, if you don't mind."

"Not at all," Harry said. "The instructions are still in the control room. I could get them for you, if you want."

"That's okay. I'll get them later."

"When are you going to Diagon Alley to get your school supplies, Harry?" Sirius asked.

"I'm not sure. I'll write Ron and Hermione and see when they're going. Maybe we could meet them there."

"You and Remus can meet them there. I think I'd better stay away from magical areas for a while. I'll just float in the pool while you're gone."

Harry laughed. Swimming in the pool in the Room of Requirement had become their favorite pastime. "Actually, you'll still be with us in Diagon Alley. You'll just be inside the trunk. The trunk will be around my neck."

"Well, since I'll be there, I'll have some raspberry swirl ice cream at Fortescues then."

"Maybe Dobby will pop out and get it for you," Harry said.

Hearing his name, Dobby popped into the room. "Did Harry Potter call Dobby?"

"We were just talking about the day I go to Diagon Alley for school supplies," Harry told him. "Sirius was wondering if you'd pop out and get him some raspberry swirl ice cream from Fortesques that day."

"Dobby is happy to get Master Sirius ice cream!" he said excitedly.

"But not today, Dobby. It'll probably be a couple of weeks before we go. I'll let you know."

"Yes, Harry Potter, Sir. Let Dobby know." He popped back out.

"This is the life," Sirius said. "Floating in the pool and having a house elf that isn't trying to kill me. Can life get better than this?"

Harry had been wondering the same thing.

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Harry spent the morning writing to his friends and sending them the souvenirs he had gotten on holiday. He told them that he had a lot to tell them when he saw them again, but that he couldn't put it in a letter. He would let them know if he got the opportunity to visit them before the end of summer, but if not, he would meet them in Diagon Alley when they bought their school supplies. He asked them to let him know when they were going so he could meet them there.

Harry had taken the small frame that his grandfather appeared in the night before into his bedroom and placed in on his bedside table in case his grandfather wanted to talk with him when he was in his room. As his finished his final letter to his friends, his grandfather suddenly appeared in the frame. "Busy, Harry?"

"No, I just finished writing letters to my friends."

"I've talked with the rest of the family, and we've got some ideas I'd like to discuss with you. After Sirius and Remus go to bed tonight, take this frame into the control room so I can show you some things. Would that be all right?"

"Sure! It might be late, but I'll be there."

"That's great, Harry. What are your plans for the day?"

"Dobby's making us a picnic, and we're going to take it to the Room of Requirement and spend the day at the pool. We'll probably stay until dinner."

"Sounds like fun. You boys have a good time."

Harry grinned. "Thanks, Granddad. We will." He started to get off the bed, and then quickly turned back to the small picture. "Oh, Granddad!"

"Yes, Harry?"

"I was just wondering if Mum and Dad and Grams could move around to other pictures the way you do. I know that Sirius and Remus would love to talk to them."

"I think that can be arranged. There are some things we're discussing today, but we'll try to arrange something later. Would that be all right?"

"That'd be great."

"All right. I'll see you tonight, then."

That night, after his guardians had gone to bed, Harry took the small picture frame into the control room. He waited for almost 10 minutes for his grandfather to appear. "Sorry I kept you waiting, Harry. There were a few things I had to discuss with your parents and Anna before I could meet with you. Are you ready?"

"Sure, Granddad. What is it you wanted to show me?"

"Actually, I want to talk with you first to let you know what we decided."

Harry nodded his agreement.

"Yesterday, you told me that I disappeared the night before you and your parents went into hiding. I don't think my disappearance was caused by Death Eaters or anything quite so ominous. You see, Harry, I lived on an island, which was already under the fidelius charm. The island was completely untraceable. Because of my position at the Ministry of Magic, it was absolutely imperative that I wasn't taken alive by Voldemort. The research I did would have been disastrous for the Wizarding world if he'd gotten hold of it."

"Mr. Tidwell told me about that," Harry said. Then he frowned in confusion. "If you were already protected, why didn't we go stay with you?"

"I don't know, Harry. We've been talking about that, and it doesn't make sense to any of us. Of course, we don't know anything that went on during the three months after your first birthday."

"So, what do you think happened to you, then? Why did you disappear?"

"I think I came here, Harry, to the future. I think that when my portrait found out what was going on here, he sent you to the past to bring me here to help you."

His grandfather laughed at the confused look on his face. "I know. I'm the portrait, but I have the memories of your grandfather, so that's how I think of myself."

"Is that what we're going to do tonight? Are we going to the past to get my grandfather?"

"I think we should. If we go to the manor on the night of my disappearance, and I haven't been kidnapped, we'll have our answer."

"Okay," Harry said, turning to the control panel. "What should I do?"

"Set the date and time to 23 October 1981 at 9:00 pm and the place to Potter Manor on Potter Island off the Southwest Coast of England. Place the trunk in the library in front of the fireplace. If I'm there, I'll recognize it and enter the trunk."

"What if you're not alone?"

"We'll arrive invisible and monitor the situation first. Once we've determined there's no danger, we'll restore the trunk to normal size and make it visible."

Harry followed his grandfather's instructions. After discovering his grandfather alone in the library, Harry made the trunk visible, and then went into the trunk library to wait for his real grandfather to arrive.

Within ten minutes, he heard footsteps cautiously making their way down the stairs into the library. He stood and turned toward the stairs, waiting. At last, his grandfather appeared on the stairway, watching him warily. He stopped and stared at Harry in awed silence. Harry wondered if he should introduce himself. The portrait of his grandfather knew him, but his grandfather who was living in 1981 did not.

Finally, he took a deep breath. "I-I'm Harry," he said softly. "Harry Potter."

His grandfather looked surprised. "What year is it, then?" he asked.

"In my time, it's 1996," Harry answered.

"Then . . . you lived."

Harry nodded, then grinned. "Yes, sir. I'm the boy-who-lived."

"And your father and mother? They . . . "

Harry looked at him sadly. "I'm the last of the Potter family."

His grandfather seemed to be in shock. Harry went to the stairs and asked him to come down and have a seat in the library. He poured him a glass of brandy and sat across from his grandfather while he sipped it.

"Harry, why have you come here?" his grandfather asked. "Surely Voldemort didn't . . . win the war, did he?"

"No, sir. I vanquished him when I was a baby, but he'd done some sort of dark magic to make himself immortal, so when the killing curse hit him, it threw his soul out of his body, but it didn't kill him. A little over a year ago, one of his Death Eaters performed a ritual which gave him a new body. So, now, he's back."

"Then, why are you here?"

"Your portrait told me to come. According to history, you disappeared on October 23, 1981, which in your time is tonight. No one ever found out what happened to you, but the portraits think that you came here—well, to the future, I mean."

"And James and Lily? When did . . . what happened?"

Harry took a deep breath and blew it out. "Near the end of October in 1981, they went into hiding," he began, and then told the entire story of the events at Godric's Hollow.

His grandfather sat in stunned silence as he listened. When Harry had finished relating the story, he began asking questions. It was almost morning when his grandfather finally said, "Harry, it's late, and you haven't slept. Since I'm going to disappear, I need to make some arrangements. Would you mind if I use the trunk to go back earlier in the day so I can do that?"

"No, of course not. It's your trunk, really."

"Actually, the trunk belongs to the entire Potter family, so it's as much yours as it is mine. By the way, what is the date in your time?"

"August second. No, it's August third, now, 1996."

"Good, then after I've made the arrangements, I'll return the trunk to your time, and I'll see you in the morning."

Harry bid his grandfather good night and went to bed thinking about all he had gained this summer. He was no longer living with the Dursleys, and they were not his only living relatives. He was a cousin to the Weasleys, Dumbledore's great great grandson, and a direct descendant of Nicholas Flamel. He had his real grandfather now, and also his godfather and his magical guardian. Life was definitely taking a turn for the better.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Harry had been so exhausted when he went to bed that morning that he had completely forgotten to warn his guardians of his grandfather's arrival. Therefore, when Remus left his bedroom that morning and saw a strange man moving boxes into the room next to Harry's, he was a bit confused.

Pulling his wand out of his pocket, he pointed it at the man. "Who are you, and how did you get in here?"

Charles Potter turned around slowly and looked at the man who had been much younger the last time he had seen him. "Remus?" he asked, surprised. Harry had also forgotten to mention to his grandfather that Remus and Sirius lived with him.

Remus almost dropped his wand. "M-Mr. Potter?" he gasped.

Charles Potter grinned at him. "Now that you're closer to my age than you are to Jamey's, why don't you call me Charley?"

The werewolf lowered his wand slowly. "How—where—" He shook his head. "What's going on?"

Charles laughed. "I take it Harry didn't tell you about my arrival."

Remus shook his head.

"Oh, well. He didn't tell me you were here, either, but that's probably because he was exhausted. He was up most of the night. I'm sure he just forgot to mention it."

"It's difficult to imagine how he could forget to mention something so—shocking," Remus said, and then realized that Charles was still holding the boxes. "Let me help you with that." He took one of the boxes from the older man and followed him into the bedroom. "What happened to you?" he asked, once they had placed the boxes on the bed. "You disappeared, and no one ever found out where you'd gone."

"I came here. Or rather, Harry brought me here."

Remus's face paled. "Oh, God. He didn't!"

"It's all right, Remus. This must have been what happened in the original time frame. Otherwise, I don't know how I could have disappeared into thin air without leaving some sort of trace. And since I'm here, I'll be able to help Harry prepare for his fight against Voldemort."

Remus stared at him a moment, then shook his head. "I feel like I'm still dreaming."

They turned when they heard Sirius shuffle past the room on his way to the kitchen. Sirius glanced in for a moment, still half asleep. "Hi, Remus. Hi, Charley," he said, as he passed. Suddenly, he stopped and rushed back to the door and stood staring at Charles Potter, his eyes as wide as Dobby's. "Ch-Charley? Charles Potter?"

Charles nodded. "Hi, Sirius. How have you been?"

"H-how have I been?" Sirius asked, still in shock. Suddenly he burst into the room and wrapped his arms around the older man in an exuberant hug. "Oh, God! Uncle Charley! How did you get here? I thought you were dead!" He held him at arm's length. "And why haven't you aged?"

"This is the work of your godson," Remus said. "He went into the past and brought his grandfather back to the future."

The color drained from Sirius's face. "He did what?"

Charles and Remus laughed at the look of panic on Sirius's face. Suddenly a muffled voice was heard from Harry's room.

"Hey! Could you keep it down? People are trying to sleep in here!"

Sirius got a mischievous look on his face. He took his wand out of his pocket and went into Harry's room. "Aguamenti!"

Harry shrieked and sat up, giving his godfather a furious look. "Sirius!" he sputtered. "What was that for?"

Sirius shook his wand at the young man menacingly. "For going into the past and getting your grandfather and not telling anybody what you were doing! That's what it's for!"

There was silence for a moment, then a quiet, "Oh. Yeah. I forgot."

"Yeah, well, get up. Your punishment is having to eat breakfast with your family."

"I'm being punished?" Harry asked incredulously. "I bring two people back from the dead, one of which was you, I might add, and this is the thanks I get? Talk about a lack of appreciation!"

"All right. That does it. You just got yourself a double portion of blueberry pancakes, Mister!"

"You're going to force me to eat my favorite food for breakfast?" Harry sighed, defeated. "I should have stayed with the Dursleys!" he grumbled, flipping back the covers and getting out of bed.

Sirius left him to get ready. Remus and Charles were in the hallway, grinning at him when he came out of Harry's room.

"That was quite an impressive display of administering discipline," Charles said.

"Yes," Remus agreed. "Unique, but impressive."

"I have my moments," Sirius responded, placing his wand back in his pocket. "Anyway, he can nap by the pool later."

Charles and Remus burst into laughter.

After a large breakfast of pancakes and sausages, the family, which now consisted of four, followed Charles out of the trunk and into the library of Potter Manor. It was quite an impressive mansion. Built of stone 800 years before, it had been restored and enlarged through the centuries by different members of the Potter clan. It stood in the center of a small island in an expansive forest glade. Several paths led from the mansion, through the forest, to the beach.

In the library, the four men sat before the fireplace. "Are we in the past, Granddad?" Harry asked, looking around the enormous room.

"No, I brought the trunk back to 1996. We're in your present. However, the house elves have kept the mansion just as it was when I left it in 1981. I was afraid it might have fallen into disrepair."

"This isn't where you lived when James was in school," Sirius said. "When I lived with you, you had a house in Wiltshire."

"I'm assuming we still have the house in Wiltshire, but Anna and I moved here while you and Jamey were attending auror training. Voldemort's forces were increasing, and I had to take every precaution not to be captured alive by his Death Eaters."

Harry asked the question he had been wondering since discussing it with the portrait. "Granddad, if this place was so protected, why didn't Mum, Dad, and I move in here instead of going to Godric's Hollow?"

"That's a good question," Charles answered. "The answer is that Jamey couldn't live here because of his profession. The only way on and off this island is by use of a transportation key, like the one used for the trunk. There is no communication to or from the island. The fireplace is not connected to the floo and owls cannot find the island. As an auror, James had to be reachable 24 hours a day. Of course, you and Lily could have come, but they didn't want to separate the family."

"We should make this a home base," Harry said. "This is even safer than the Dursleys or Hogwarts." He looked at his grandfather. "I mean, if it's okay with you."

Charles laughed. "Harry, this is your home. Of course it's all right with me. And I agree; this is probably the safest place on earth. Besides, you'll be able to send and receive post through the trunk since the areas you've charmed for that purpose are off the island."

"Then we'll make this home base 3," Harry said, happily. "I've never had a home before, I mean, before the trunk."

His grandfather smiled at him. "You do now," he said, patting Harry's knee. "Anyway, down to business. I talked with my portrait earlier this morning before the rest of you awoke, and I learned a great deal about what life is like in this time. Because of the prophecy, it seems that you, Harry, are the key to defeating Voldemort for good. We need to make plans. This is not something that you are going to have to deal with alone. We will plan our offensive, organize our allies, and put our plans into action immediately. The sooner we get rid of the old devil the faster we can all settle down and live normal lives."

The others agreed and waited for Charles to continue.

"Now, I assume the Order is still active?" he asked.

"Yes," Remus said. "Albus is still head of the Order, and we have around 20 members."

"Who is Minister of Magic in this time?"

"We have a new one. Rufus Scrimgeour. He used to be an auror."

"Do you know anything about him?"

"He was a good auror," Sirius said. "He was wounded in the line of duty and got stuck on a desk. I don't know much about him, other than that. He was a tough old bloke—looked a bit like a lion."

"I could talk with Albus about him," Remus suggested. "And Kingsley, Moody, and Tonks. They're aurors and members of the Order. Well, Moody's retired now, but he would know more about him than most."

"Yes, we'll also need to talk with them about trustworthy aurors," Charles said. "And we'll need to talk with Albus. Of course, the first thing we need to do is find out where Voldemort is."

"Can the trunk help us do that?" Harry asked.

"It can help us spy on him, but we have to locate him first. My suggestion is that we find a Death Eater to watch, then attach ourselves to him when he's summoned to Voldemort."

"Snape's a Death Eater," Harry said. "We could watch him."

"Severus Snape?"

"Actually, he's a spy for the Order," Remus corrected. "He's also the potions professor at Hogwarts."

"Do you know where he lives?"

Remus shook his head. "No, but—"

"We could send him an owl and follow it," Harry suggested. "Remus, you could owl him and ask him to meet you to discuss getting the wolfsbane potion from him. He'll refuse to make it, anyway, so you wouldn't actually have to meet him."

"Or," Remus said, glaring at Harry for interrupting him. "I could attend the Order meeting tonight and bring the trunk along with me. You could attach yourselves to him before he leaves the meeting."

Sirius snorted and ruffled Harry's hair. "I liked the owl idea myself," he said.

Charles grinned. "Then we'll attend the Order meeting tonight. We'll need to make Harry a member, since he'll be in attendance. He'll just need to swear the oath."

"Dumbledore won't let me," Harry said, sulkily.

"Well, Dumbledore isn't your legal guardian, Harry. Remus is. And Sirius is your godfather and I'm your grandfather, so I don't think that Albus is going to be a problem."

Harry grinned. "Would it sound terribly sappy if I said that it's nice to finally have a family?"

Sirius grabbed him around the neck and ran his knuckles over the top of his head. "Yes, Harry. That sounds sappy, but we forgive you."

"Before Severus leaves, then, we'll move the trunk inside his pocket. Hopefully, we won't have long to wait before he goes to Voldemort."

"He may do it after the meeting," Remus said. "He usually reports to Voldemort immediately after an Order meeting."

"So soon," Charles said thoughtfully, then clapped his hands together. "Well, then, we have a room to prepare. Gentlemen, we need to create a prison. We'll need Dobby for this, Harry. His magic, combined with ours, will create the most secure area known to Wizardkind."

"Is that what the 8th level is for?" Harry asked.

"Absolutely. The Marauders' Prison, gentlemen, is about to become a Death Eaters worst nightmare."

A day of hard work and magic that Harry had never imagine possible produced 40 8-by-8 meter prison cells. The cells were surrounded by thick stones on three sides and a strong wall of steel mesh on the fourth, making it impossible for the prisoner to reach beyond the cell. In front of each line of cells was an aisle 2 meters wide behind which was another stone wall. Stone and steel mesh would be the prisoner's only view. Inside each cell was a stone slab built into the wall. An indestructible mattress was permanently attached to the slab, which would provide both seating and a bed for the prisoner. Folded on top of the mattress were a set of sheets, a blanket, a pillow, a paperback muggle novel, and a plain gray prison robe. On one side of the bed was a toilet with a stone shelf holding toilet paper beside it. A sink was on the other side. Another stone shelf, located above the sink, held a bar of soap and a toothbrush.

The cells were charmed to prevent escape, wandless magic, apparition, disapparition, and animagus transformation. Anyone inside the cell could not perform magic, even if they had a wand. They were also sound proof. There were no openings in the mesh wall for food or water to pass through. Food would magically appear three times a day inside the cell on a muggle paper plate along with a drink in a muggle foam cup. The prisoner would have exactly half an hour to eat before the plate and cup disappeared.

There was a separate cell for prisoners to be magically stripped and scanned for hidden contraband. Another cell, lined with shelves, would serve as a storage area where boxes would hold the prisoners' personal affects. A third cell would serve as an interrogation area. In the middle of that cell was a chair with chains attached. Other chairs were placed in the room for the interrogators.

"How long will we hold prisoners here?" Remus asked.

"Until Voldemort is vanquished and Azkaban is secure," Charles answered. "We can't depend on ministry holding cells. Death Eaters are probably working in the Ministry. Prisoners will be rescued, allowed to escape, or killed, depending on their importance to Voldemort. Besides, with them here, we can question them at will."

"Why did you say this would be the biggest fear for Death Eaters?" Harry asked. "This is much more humane than Azkaban. They'll get fed and have a place to clean up. They'll even have books to read."

"Yes, Harry," Sirius said. "But after 3 days of staring at nothing but 4 walls, having no one to talk to, and hearing nothing but your own voice, it becomes torture."

"Perhaps we should provide some form of exercise," Remus said. "I know they're prisoners, but we should at least give them some sunshine and a place to walk."

Charles looked thoughtful. "We could double the size of this room and build 4 more rooms. We'll make each one a smaller version of the Room of Requirement, but not changeable by the prisoners. We'll put a little park in each one and make the day nice and sunny. Every day, for 45 minutes, a prisoner will be automatically transported to the park where he can enjoy the sun and exercise. Since it's a Room of Requirement, he won't be able to take anything from the area to use as a weapon. After that, he'll be automatically transported back to his cell. Each prisoner will have an assigned time, on the hour, so that there will be 15 minutes between visits. That way, there's no chance of one coming into contact with another one."

"Couldn't one of them leave a message in the dirt or something for another prisoner?" Remus asked.

"No, because we'll charm them so that when one prisoner leaves, the rooms will return to exactly the way they were before anyone entered. Any messages in the dirt or scratches on trees will disappear."

"If Azkaban had been like this, I might not have escaped," Sirius said, only half seriously.

"That's another thing," Charles said. "If possible, I'd like to capture Pettigrew first. We need to get your name cleared, Sirius. Of course, once that's done, he'll probably escape, but we'll just recapture him and put him in our little prison."

"Will 40 cells be enough?" Harry asked.

"Probably not, but if we need to, we can replicate the room and have 40 more," Charles said.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Before the Order meeting, his grandfather insisted that Harry take a wizard's oath that he would not reveal anything that took place, since all member of the Order had taken the same oath.

In the meeting, they discussed the recent murders of Amelia Bones and Emmaline Vance. The new minister, Scrimgeour, and his desire to have Dumbledore and Harry publicly show their support for him was also discussed. Snape gave a report stating that Voldemort was recovering from the experience at the Ministry. It seems he had been in a great deal of pain after possessing Harry. That, Harry thought, is probably why he hadn't had even a twinge from his scar. Snape had discovered none of Voldemort's plans as yet; he wasn't revealing anything in advance because he didn't trust the Death Eaters. He was also very angry that several of his inner circle had been captured, including Lucius Malfoy. Snape believed that an attempt to rescue the inner circle would be made soon.

When the meeting was over, Charles carefully moved the trunk inside Snape's pocket so they could follow him to his home. To their delight, however, Snape apparated directly from the meeting to Riddle Manor, Voldemort's lair. Charles quickly moved the trunk to the mantle over the fireplace so they would be out of the way and in a position to see the entire room.

Snape knelt before Voldemort. "I have just returned from an Order meeting, my lord."

"And what did you learn, Severus?"

"As you know, after the fiasco in the Department of Mysteries, Fudge was forced to admit that you had returned. Otherwise, they know nothing. They are concerned that there has been little activity and are wondering what plans you may be making. I told them that you were recovering from the battle at the ministry and had not yet made any plans."

"How can he tell him that?" Harry whispered to Remus. "Didn't he take the oath?"

Remus shook his head and whispered back. "His only Oath was to not report the names of the other Order members, with the exclusion of Dumbledore."

"Very good, Severus," Voldemort said. "And what have you learned about Harry Potter?"

"Nothing, my lord. Dumbledore is refusing to allow him to leave his place of residence this summer."

"What about his friends who were with him at the ministry?"

"They are in hiding, and Dumbledore refuses to tell anyone in the Order where they are."

"Even the mud-blood?"

"Yes. She and her parents are in hiding, my lord."

"Dumbledore told you this?"

"He told the entire Order, my lord. Wherever he has hidden them, he believes they are safe. He has not even assigned Order members to protect them. I only know that they are not at Hogwarts."

Voldemort took a moment to think about what Snape had told him. "Very good, Severus," he said at last. "You may leave."

Snape stood, bowed to Voldemort, and left the room. After a few moments, Voldemort shouted, "Wormtail!"

A whimpering little man entered the room. "Yes, my lord?"

"Has Severus gone?"

"Yes, my lord."

"I want you to follow him. Go to his home. Take note of anyone who visits and anywhere he goes. Listen to his conversations and report back to me in a week."

"Yes, my lord." He bowed and left the room.

"Should we follow him?" Sirius asked.

"No. We should capture him," Charles answered. He moved the trunk outside the door of Riddle Manor. Before Pettigrew could get past the anti-apparition wards, he pushed a button on the panel and stunned the little rat. He then pushed another button and transported Pettigrew inside the trunk. He then returned the trunk to the mantle in Voldemort's lair. "Sirius and I will stay here and keep an eye on Voldemort. Remus and Harry, if you'll see that he's scanned and put him in his cell, we'll interrogate him when he wakes up. Stun him again to make sure he remains unconscious until he gets in his cell, and then come back here. Don't let him see you."

Remus and Harry found Pettigrew already locked inside the scanning room. Remus stunned him, and then waved his wand, stripping him of his clothes, then performed the scan. After determining he had nothing on him, Remus transported him to a cell while Harry put his clothes, a small satchel of galleons, and his wand in the storage area. When Harry returned, they checked the cell to make sure Wormtail had arrived. Through the mesh, they could see that he was lying on the cot.

When Pettigrew awoke, he looked around the cell, trying to remember how he had gotten there. Seeing the robes on the bed, he quickly dressed, then sat back down and waited. He continued to look around the room, his foot tapping nervously on the stone floor.

Two hours later, Charles transported the prisoner to the interrogation room, where he appeared already chained to the chair. Voldemort had retired for the night, so they were watching Pettigrew's cell from the control room.

Remus and Harry once again went down to the 8th level to question him. Pettigrew quivered in fear when they entered the room.

"Hello, Wormtail," Remus said. "Having a pleasant evening?" He and Harry seated themselves in two of the chairs in the room and watched Pettigrew's features change from fear to confusion as he tried to make sense of the situation.

"H-how did I get here?" he asked. "Where am I?"

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about that right now, Wormtail," Remus said, calmly. "There are so many more important things you should be worrying about."

"W-what do you mean?" he asked, his eyes widening in dread.

"We'll get to that later. However, now that you're here, there's something I've been dying to ask you."

"W-what?"

"Why did you do it, Wormtail? Why did you betray James and Lily? Why did you set Sirius up to take the fall? They were your friends. They would have died for you!"

Wormtail was trembling. "You don't understand, Remus. I'm not as strong as you and Sirius and James."

"You mean you're a coward!" Harry said, angrily.

Wormtail looked at Harry and spoke softly. "Yes, I am."

"Do you like your life now, Wormtail?" Remus asked. "Do you like crawling on your belly before Voldemort?"

A pained look came over his face, and he shook his head. "No," he whispered. "I hate it!"

"Then why did you bring him back?" Harry asked.

"I-I didn't have anywhere to go. I needed someone to protect me from Sirius."

Harry and Remus looked at him with disgust. "Take him back to his cell," Remus said, and suddenly Wormtail was gone from the chair.

Harry grinned. "He's got to be wondering how we're doing all this great magic," he said.

Remus nodded. "Yes, it's probably scaring the devil out of the little rat."

888888888888888888888888

At his grandfather's urging, Harry wrote five letters that night and sent Hedwig out to deliver them immediately. All the letters held the same message:

_It is urgent that you meet with me in the upstairs room of The Three Broomsticks tomorrow afternoon at 2:00 pm. –Harry Potter_

The letters went to Dumbledore, Scrimgeour, Moody, Shacklebolt, and Tonks.

To Dumbledore's, he added one sentence:

_Please bring Professor Snape and a bottle of veritaserum with you. _

To Scrimgeour's he added:

_Please bring the head of the DMLE with you._

The next afternoon, Harry and Remus appeared in the upstairs room at The Three Broomsticks. The others appeared shortly after. Charles and Sirius were also there watching from the control room of the trunk.

Dumbledore did not look happy to see Scrimgeour. He had been avoiding the man since his appointment. Harry was not happy that Scrimgeour had brought Percy Weasley along. Moody seemed content to be where he was, but Shacklebolt and Tonks were a bit uncomfortable at having been summoned while their bosses were there. Snape just looked as if he were annoyed at having been summoned by Harry Potter.

"Thank you all for coming," Harry said, setting a small wooden box on the table. "I have asked you to come here today because I have something important to show you, but before I do, I have a request. Mr. Scrimgeour, as Minister of Magic, you are the person who can grant my request."

Scrimgeour looked annoyed. "What request would that be, Mr. Potter?"

"If I can prove that my godfather, Sirius Black, was innocent of all the crimes he was accused of, will you clear his name immediately and make a public announcement?"

"Your godfather is dead, Harry. Why would you waste my time with something so trivial when our world is in the midst of war?"

"Because, Sir," Harry said, his voice shaking with emotion. "This is not a trivial matter to me. My godfather was an innocent man who spent 12 years in Azkaban for crimes he didn't commit. The former Minister of Magic accused him of being a Death Eater—Voldemort's right hand man. The truth is that my godfather fought on the side of the Light. He risked his life for my parents, yet he is accused of betraying them. He was a man capable of more love than most people could ever imagine, and yet his name has become a curse and an example of evil. This is a man who gave his life to protect me. I owe it to him to have his name cleared."

Scrimgeour looked as if he were considering the matter. "And if I give you this guarantee, should you present the proof of his innocence, what will you give me in return?"

"I would give you my gratitude, although I'm sure that the reward of knowing you did the honorable thing would be more valuable."

"Harry, the papers are calling you the Chosen One. Your opinions carry a lot of weight in our world. If you publicly acknowledged your support for me, it would go a long way in helping our world to feel safer. Don't you want our world to feel secure, Harry?"

"No, sir. A false sense of security is a dangerous thing. It's better to know the truth and prepare accordingly. You may think that the number of people you are arresting is making people feel secure, but arresting people for Death Eater activity who are not Death Eaters is not going to do that. Everyone who has ever ridden the Knight bus knows that Stan Shunpike is no more a Death Eater than I am, and yet he's sitting in Azkaban prison. Why is that, Minister?"

"It gives the public hope to know that I'm doing something, Harry. The number of arrests has caused the public to feel safe."

"How safe would they feel if they knew that the people you were arresting were innocent? How many would wonder if they would be next?"

The minister sighed. "What would it take for you to support me, Harry?" he asked.

"Professor Dumbledore once told me that we must choose between what is right and what is easy. By arresting innocent people to make an unsafe world feel safe, you have chosen to do what is easy. When you choose to do what is right, I'll support you."

The minister gave him a hard stare. "Is this your final answer, Harry? Even knowing that I have the power to clear your godfather's name? If I tell you that I'll only clear his name if you show your support for me, what will you do then, Harry?"

"I'll wait until we have a minister who doesn't resort to blackmail before making the request again, and I don't think I'll have to wait that long. You see, I believe it's my duty as the Chosen One to make sure the Wizarding world knows the kind of man you really are."

Scrimgeour nodded. "I see."

Harry sighed. "I'm sorry I wasted everyone's time," he said, taking the box from the table and walking toward the door.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

"Wait, Mr. Potter," the new head of the DMLE said, standing. "The Minister of Magic is not the only person in the Ministry who has the power to clear your godfather's name. If you'll show me this proof, and if it does indeed prove your godfather's innocence, I'll take the matter before the Wizengamot."

Harry sat the box back down on the table and looked at Scrimgeour who was watching him, his face void of any expression. He opened the box and took out what looked to be a dead rat and laid it on the table. Looking over at Remus, he nodded.

Remus took out his wand and transfigured the rat into a man. He then levitated him to a chair and bound him with ropes.

"This is Peter Pettigrew," Harry said. "As you saw, his animagus form is a rat. He was my parent's secret keeper. He was also a Death Eater and the one who betrayed them to Voldemort. He is the murderer of the 13 muggles my godfather was accused of killing. He is also the murderer of Cedric Diggory and Amelia Bones. It was he who performed the ritual that brought Voldemort back. I know because I was there. He used my blood in the ritual." He turned to Snape. "Did you bring the veritaserum, Professor?"

Snape nodded and took a small bottle out of his pocket. Remus ended the sleeping spell, and before Pettigrew had time to figure out where he was, Snape had administered the potion. Robert Parsons moved in front of Pettigrew and began to question him.

"What is your name?"

"Peter Pettigrew."

"Are you a Death Eater?"

"Yes."

"When did you become a Death Eater?"

"The summer after I my last year at Hogwarts."

"Were you the Potter's secret keeper?"

"Yes."

"Why was it thought that Sirius Black was the secret keeper?"

"He was a decoy. Everyone was meant to think he was the secret keeper to protect me from being captured by Voldemort."

"Did Sirius know you were a Death Eater?"

"No."

"Did you kill the 13 muggles in London?"

"Yes."

"How was it that witnesses thought it was Sirius?"

"When Sirius found me in London, I accused him in front of witnesses of betraying James and Lily. Holding my wand behind my back, I severed one of my fingers with a spell, then blew up the street, transformed into my animagus form, and escaped down the sewer. Everyone thought that I was dead and that Sirius had caused the explosion."

"Where did you go from there?"

"I found a family of wizards, and one of their children took me as a pet."

"Who were the wizards you stayed with?"

"The Weasley family."

"Did they know you were an animagus?"

"No. I stayed in my animagus form for 12 years."

"Did you kill Cedric Diggory and Amelia Bones?"

"Yes."

"Did you commit all the crimes that Sirius Black was accused of?"

"Yes."

Robert Parsons looked at the other occupants in the room. "Does anyone else have any questions?"

Scrimgeour stood. "Mr. Potter, your evidence is sufficient. Mr. Black's name will be cleared, and I'll hold a press conference in the morning to announce it to the public." He turned and slowly limped out of the room, followed by Percy Weasley.

Mr. Parsons ordered Shacklebolt and Tonks to take Pettigrew into custody. "Congratulations, Mr. Potter," he said, shaking Harry's hand. "If there's anything I can do for you, let me know."

"Thank you, Sir," Harry said, and watched the head of the DMLE follow Tonks and Shacklebolt out the door.

Moody slapped Harry on the back as he left. "Good work, boy. Sirius would have been proud of you today."

"Thanks, Mr. Moody," Harry said, smiling.

"Good day, Mr. Potter," Snape said, nodding at him, and then walked out the door.

"Harry, I've never been prouder of you than I am today," Dumbledore said, patting him on the back. "But I am a bit curious about how you managed to capture Mr. Pettigrew."

Harry grinned and nodded to Remus who closed the door.

"Professor, it'll be easier for me to show you," he said, taking off his medallion and placing it on the floor. Immediately the medallion became visible and transformed into the Potter trunk.

Dumbledore ran his hand across the gold letters on the top. "It's beautiful, Harry. Where did you get it?"

"It was my grandfather's," Harry said, opening the trunk to the 4th level. "Sir, if you wouldn't mind following me, there's someone I'd like you to meet."

"Oh, it's a multi-dimensional trunk," Albus said excitedly, following him down the stairs. "I've always wanted one of these, Harry, ever since I saw Moody's."

When they arrived in the library, Harry invited him and Remus to sit, then called for Dobby to serve them some tea. "This is a very nice room, Harry," Dumbledore said, sipping his tea. "How many levels does it have?"

"Eight," Harry said. "If you have a time, I'll give you a tour."

"Oh, I wouldn't miss it for the world. Now, you said something about wanting me to meet someone?"

"Yes, Sir. If you'll excuse me, I'll get him."

As Dumbledore and Remus made small talk, Harry went into the control room. "Well," he said to his grandfather. "He's here. Should I have prepared him better? I would hate for the most powerful wizard of the age to have a heart attack in our library."

Charles laughed. "Oh, I don't think that'll happen, Harry," he said, standing. "Are you ready, Sirius?"

As the door to the control room opened, Remus advised Dumbledore to set his cup down. "You may be in for a bit of a shock," he said.

"Hello, Albus," Charles said.

The headmaster turned and saw Charles Potter and Sirius Black coming into the room. "Good Lord!" he said in amazement. "Charley? Sirius?" He shook his head at the grinning men. "I have a feeling I'm in for a very good story," he said, eyes twinkling. He stood up, went to each of the men, and gave them a hug. "Charley, Sirius, I've never been more delighted to see two people in my life."

"We do indeed have a story for you, Albus, but before that, I'd like to show you something. It'll help explain what's happened." He led Dumbledore into the control room as the others followed. Inside, they all sat and made themselves comfortable.

"Very impressive," Dumbledore said.

Charley turned on the screen above the control panel. Voldemort was sitting in front of the fire in the old Riddle Mansion, stroking Nagini. Dumbledore leaned toward the screen. "What is this? Is this like a pensieve?"

"Oh, no. You're actually seeing the present." As he spoke, a Death Eater entered the room, knelt before Voldemort, and kissed his robes.

"You called, my Lord?"

"Go tell Bella I want to see her immediately," Voldemort said.

"Yes, my Lord," the Death Eater said. He rose and left the room.

"How are you doing that?" Dumbledore asked.

"After you came into the trunk, I moved us to Voldemort's hideout. We are actually sitting on the mantle of his fireplace in his father's old house. This screen allows us to see and hear everything that's going on outside the trunk."

"But won't he detect you?"

"No. The trunk is both invisible and undetectable."

On the screen, Bella entered the room, knelt in front of the Dark Lord, and kissed the hem of his robes. "That gets a bit tiring," Sirius said.

"You wanted to see me, my Lord?"

"Yes, Bella. Wormtail is on a mission for me. He won't be back for a week. I need someone to take his place caring for my personal needs."

"My Lord, I'd be honored. What may I do for you?"

"Tea, Bella, and something light to eat. Then, I want to rest for a while. I have a busy night ahead."

"Yes, Master." Bella left the room to do her master's bidding.

"Looks like Voldemort has plans for the night," Charley said. "We'll have to stick around and find out what he's planning."

"Amazing," Dumbledore whispered. "I'd like to stay, if you don't mind."

"Not at all, Albus. We'll take shifts watching the screen so that we can each rest up before the big event."

"I need to contact Minerva to let her know that I'm not returning to the school. Is there some way to do that?"

"You can use Hedwig," Harry said. "She'll get the message to Professor McGonagall right away."

Albus frowned. "If we're in Voldemort's house, won't he see an owl leave the trunk?"

Harry grinned. "No, Sir. She'll leave the trunk by way of my window on Privet Drive. It's a little hard to explain, but she won't have to go through Voldemort's house to leave."

While Remus took the first shift in the control room, Sirius went to rest so he could take the next shift. Dumbledore wrote a note to McGonagall, and then Harry and Charley gave him the tour.

Harry got permission to show the headmaster the house elves apartment. He was very impressed with their living quarters. "So this is where you and Dobby got off to, Winky," he said. "I've wondered about you two. I'm glad you've finally found a good home."

"Thank you, Master Dumblydore Sir. Winky and Dobby is very happy here."

"I'm glad, Winky," he said, patting the little elf on the shoulder. "You deserve a good home."

In the Room of Requirement, Harry changed the room to a tenpin bowling alley where they enjoyed a game. Dumbledore bowled a perfect score. "I can't believe I'm enjoying my favorite game in Voldemort's hideout," he said, eyes twinkling merrily.

On the 8th level, Charles explained the magic used on the cells and their plans to incarcerate Death Eaters there until the Wizarding world was more secure. "We plan to hit Voldemort where it hurts the most," Charles explained. "We take away his Death Eaters; we work to stop his financing; we build and train an army; we destroy his method of immortality; we plan a way to vanquish him; and then we take out the old boy permanently," he said.

Dumbledore nodded, intrigued. "And you know the method he's used to make himself immortal?" he asked.

"I have my suspicions, and I've done some research. I think you may know something about that yourself."

"I, too, have my suspicions. Perhaps we can compare notes and see if we suspect the same thing."

"I was going to suggest that myself," Charley said. "Now, Albus, as you saw, we have 8 guestrooms. If you'd like to get a little rest before dinner, choose one, and I'll have Dobby wake you in time for supper."

"I would like to be refreshed before the evening's activities, so I think I'll take you up on that offer, Charles."


	11. Chapter 11

AN: People have asked if they can use a particular idea from this story. The answer is YES! because these are not my ideas. I have taken ideas from all the stories I've read. I believe there is no such thing as an original idea—it's the way you put them together that makes the story original. It's as some of you have said—the multi-dimensional trunk idea is cliché, yet I love reading all those stories. Also, some are wondering why there hasn't been a confrontation with Dumbledore. Well, it's-a-comin', but you'll have to wait for it. These Griffindors are using a little Slytherin strategy right now. They need Dumbledore's knowledge, and extracting knowledge from Dumbledore is like trying to get blood out of a stone. So, there's a little quid pro quo going on right now. I hope that answered some of your questions. Thank you for all your reviews and for all your questions and comments. Tamara

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Chapter 11

At midnight, Voldemort's Death Eaters were gathered around him in the Throne Room of the old manor. Unknown to them, they were being observed by five people sitting in an invisible trunk on the fireplace mantle.

Voldemort paced the room, inside the circle of Death Eaters. "Severus, step forward," he ordered.

Snape stepped out of the circle and knelt before the Dark Lord. "Yes, my lord?"

"It appears that you have been misinformed, Severus. I've had my loyal servants watching the mud-blood's house all day. Imagine my surprise when they reported that neither she nor her parents were in hiding." He paced around the kneeling potions master. "What do you have to say for yourself, Severus?"

"I can only offer my apologies, my Lord. Dumbledore told the Order that they were in hiding, and I reported the information to you."

"Crucio!" Voldemort snapped, and Snape fell to the floor, his body jerking in a painful seizure. After about 30 seconds, Voldemort stopped the curse.

"Get up!" he ordered. "And next time you bring me information, verify that it's correct!"

"Yes, my Lord," Snape said, struggling to his feet and rejoining the rest of the Death Eaters in the circle.

"Where's Wormtail?"

The Death Eaters looked at each other, but none answered.

"Severus?"

"Yes, my Lord?"

"Where is Wormtail?"

"My Lord, I haven't seen Wormtail since I reported to you here last night after the Order meeting."

Voldemort approached him threateningly. "You haven't seen him at all?"

"No, my Lord."

"I instructed him to go to your house and keep you company."

"My Lord, he never arrived."

"Crucio!" And Snape received another 30 seconds of pain.

When it was over, Voldemort turned to the other Death Eaters. "Go to the mud-blood's house. Kill the girl and her parents, and then destroy the house. Severus, you will remain here with me."

"Yes, my Lord."

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"Hermione!" Harry said, in a panic. "They're going to kill Hermione!"

"What's the address?" Charley asked, clicking on the map.

Albus gave him the address, and they arrived in the Granger's living room. Harry was transported out of the trunk. "Hermione! Mr. and Mrs. Granger! You have to come with me. Your house is about to be attacked by Death Eaters. We can transport you to a safe place."

Without hesitation, the Grangers agreed, and Charles transported them into the trunk's lounge. In the control room, Charles moved the trunk to the roof of the Granger's house and placed an invisible shield around the property. "Nothing can pass through that," he said, as they watched the Death Eaters apparate around the Granger home. "They won't even be able to walk onto the property."

They watched as Death Eaters dropped to the ground to avoid their own curses as they bounced off the invisible shield. Those who ran into the shield were thrown back into the street.

Charles hit a button on the panel and a wave of red light struck the majority of the Death Eaters, rendering them unconscious. The few who escaped the spell immediately disapparated. "I think we have enough room for a few guests," he said, pressing another button on the panel, which caused the Death Eaters to disappear.

He turned to the other occupants of the control room. "I'll take us back to Voldemort's hideout if the rest of you will see to our newest guests," Charles said.

On the 8th level of the trunk, 21 Death Eaters were piled on top of each other inside the scanning room. It took Albus, Sirius, Remus, and Harry almost an hour to get them all stripped, scanned, and placed in cells.

In the lounge, the Grangers, in pajamas and robes, sat in front of the fire sipping tea and nibbling biscuits, waiting for Harry to return. At last, Harry, Albus, and Remus joined them.

"Oh, Harry," Hermione said, throwing her arms around him in a hug worthy of Mrs. Weasley. "How did you know?"

"I'm sorry, Miss Granger," Albus said, smiling apologetically. "But we can't divulge that information. Order business, you know. But I'm happy to tell you that your house was not damaged in any way. The Death Eaters were unable to do any harm, so after a good night's rest, we will return you in the morning."

She nodded and sat back down with her parents. "Headmaster, these are my parents. Mum, Dad, this is Headmaster Dumbledore, Professor Remus Lupin, and of course you know Harry."

"Are you sure it's safe for us to go back?" Mr. Granger asked.

"Yes, we've improved our spy network. There will be no attacks without our knowing about it first. And we are making preparations for your safety. Everything will be ready in the morning."

"Thank you, Headmaster," Mrs. Granger said.

"Think nothing of it. Harry, perhaps you should show the Grangers to their rooms. I'm sure they're exhausted after all the excitement they've had tonight."

The Grangers followed Harry to the 6th level, where he showed them their rooms.

"Harry, where are we?" Hermione asked, as he opened the door to her room.

"It's . . . just a safehouse," he said.

"But why are you here?"

"Um I'm living here now."

Hermione frowned. "Why did Dumbledore move you from your relatives?"

"He didn't, Hermione, but--Look, I've discovered that I have a grandfather, and I'm living here with him. Nobody knows about it, so please don't say anything to anyone else. All right?"

"Does Ron know?" she asked.

He shook his head. "It's only been a few days, so I really haven't had time to let anyone know. Please let me tell Ron and his family, though. I want to do it in person."

"All right," she said, and kissed him on the cheek. "Thanks for saving us, Harry. Good night."

"Night, Mione."

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In Little Hangleton, 7 terrified Death Eaters reported their failure to the Dark Lord. After a round of crucios for everyone, Voldemort sat on his throne and wondered what kind of protection Dumbledore had placed on the muggle house. He had never heard of a shield that could not only resist every spell, but could attack as well.

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The next morning, Sirius had breakfast in the control room, taking an early shift while the rest of the household ate theirs in the dining room. Harry introduced his grandfather to the Grangers, and they discussed the events of the night before.

"Before we send you back home," Charles told them, "If you will each provide one hair from your head, I'll make you each a transport key. Therefore, if you're in trouble, just say or think the words 'safe haven' and, as long as you wear the key around your neck, it will transport you to a place of safety."

"Is that like a portkey, Mr. Potter?" Hermione asked.

"Not exactly. With a portkey, you travel through space, which can sometimes be quite uncomfortable. With a transport key, you disappear from one place and appear at another. There's no discomfort at all."

"I've never read anything about transport keys," Hermione said. "Why doesn't the Wizarding world use them more often?"

Charles smiled. "Because they don't know about them, Hermione. I invented them."

After the Grangers left, Charles went into the control room and duplicated the Room of Requirement. "We're going to need a place where people can transport in emergency situations," he explained. "But not know they're in a trunk."

Albus took a turn in the Control Room while Harry and his guardians went to prepare the new Room of Requirement. "From now on, when we make a transport key, we'll make it to access this level only," he said. "That is what I did for the Grangers."

They changed the new Room of Requirement into a replica of Potter Island, without the house. Just inside the edge of the forest, they placed dozens of Wizarding tents among the trees. The area was large enough that none were close together, providing each tent with a bit of privacy. This left the cove, the majority of the woods, and the beach free for wandering. In the center of the cove, they placed a lake. Around the lake, the cove was turned into a lush garden with fragrant plants and flowers. Cobblestone paths and arbor-covered swings and benches provided places to walk and sit in the garden. In one area, he placed a park for children, which contained several swings, a slide, a large sandbox, a Jungle Jim, and a merry-go-round. Satisfied with his work, he had another idea. In the center of the lake, he placed an island, which held a carousel. Unicorns, dragons, winged horses, griffins, hippogriffs, phoenixes, and other magical creatures pranced around the circle to lively calliope music. Paddleboats floated at the edge of the lake, ready to take passengers of all ages to the carousel.

"I wonder, Uncle Charley," Sirius said. "If when the danger is past, we'll be able to make everyone go home."

Charley laughed and set up a large tent in another area of the woods. "This can be the headquarters for the Order of the Phoenix," he said. " We'll make transport keys for members of the Order and their families."

"We'll also need them for the DA," Harry said. "Especially the ones who went to the ministry with me. I'm sure Voldemort knows about them by now. They can transport here, and we can train." Harry set up another large tent for his DA members.

"We'll need to rescue Severus soon," Remus said. "Voldemort doesn't trust him anymore. I think his days as a spy are over."

Charles agreed. "We should put a potions lab in one of the tents for him. The Dark Mark doesn't respond to Voldemort's summons inside the trunk."

"Is that why my scar hasn't hurt this summer?" Harry asked. "Because Voldemort can't reach me while I'm here?"

"Exactly. The walls of the trunk protect you from any outside influences."

Harry picked out a tent that the family would use, and Charles added a hidden door that would lead directly to the control room. The tent had four bedrooms, a large lounge, and a kitchen-dining area. There were only 2 bathrooms, so Remus and Sirius would share one and Charles and Harry the other. They dubbed it The Marauder's Tent, making Charley and Harry official Marauders.

Harry spent much of the rest of the day at the pool with Sirius while Remus took a turn in the control room. Albus and Charles sat in the library discussing their ideas about Voldemort's attempt to become immortal.

Charles poured Albus a brandy, and then took his own glass and settled in a chair by the fireplace. "When Jamey was in his 6th year at Hogwarts, Anna was working on a project with Horace Slughorn. He came to our house in Wiltshire one weekend, and after dinner, Anna went to bed early with a headache. Horace had brought a couple of bottles of brandy he wanted me to try, and we sat in the lounge discussing Voldemort. We'd both had a bit much to drink, but Horace was absolutely pissed." He laughed, remembering the incident.

"And then he told me something that made my blood run cold," he said, shivering at the recollection.

Albus leaned forward in his seat. "What was it, Charley?"

"He said that when Tom Riddle was at Hogwarts, he asked him about horcruxes. From their conversation, Horace got the impression that he intended to make 6 of them, splitting his soul into 7 pieces. I asked Horace why the number 7. He said that Tom liked the number 7 because it was magical. So, I began researching horcruxes—how to make them and how to destroy them. Albus, I think this is the method that Tom used to become immortal. I think that he would have died when the killing curse rebounded off Harry and hit him if he had not split his soul apart. However, I have no idea what items he used to house his soul pieces, nor where he could have hidden them. Should we find them, though, I do know how to destroy them."

Albus released a heavy sigh. "Charley, I have no idea how to destroy a horcrux. However, I may be able to shed some light on possible relics and where they might be hidden. Over the years, I have collected the memories of people who have had to deal with Tom. I have discovered that Tom likes to use items that are special to him or that have something to do with the Hogwart's founders. I've come to the conclusion that Tom has hidden these horcruxes at sites that mean something to him—the orphanage where he grew up, for example—the homes of his mother and father—perhaps even Hogwarts. In his second year, Harry unknowingly destroyed one of the horcruxes when he rescued little Ginny Weasley from the Chamber of Secrets."

"Oh, my," Charley said. "Was he injured?"

"Not by the horcrux. He had a bit of a run-in with a basilisk, though, which caused a bit of injury before he finally killed it with Godric Griffindor's sword."

Charles scowled at Dumbledore whose eyes were twinkling with amusement. "A basilisk," he repeated drolly. "You're telling me that my grandson slew a basilisk when he was 12—with Griffindor's sword, no less."

Albus couldn't keep the amusement out of his voice. "That's what I'm telling you, Charley."

"Bloody hell," he said, and then finished off the entire snifter of brandy in one gulp.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

After dinner that evening, Dobby kept an eye on the control room while the rest of the household gathered in the library. The control panel was set up to record the events on the monitor, so Dobby's job was to watch the screen and report to Charles if anything unusual happened--if, for example, Voldemort had visitors or started to leave the room.

In the library, Dumbledore had returned from Hogwarts with his collection of memories. After watching two memories that took place in the Gaunt house, which had been Voldemort's mother's family, and two of Tom Riddle while he worked for Borgin and Burkes, they decided that the most likely items used for making horcruxes were a ring and a necklace that had belonged to the Gaunt family, direct descendants of Slytherin. They knew that Tom Riddle's diary had been one, but was now destroyed. They suspected Hufflepuff's cup was another one. The 7th piece of soul would still reside in Voldemort, but they didn't have any idea what the other two were. Dumbledore believed that Nagini, Voldemort's snake, was a horcrux.

"We can test that theory easily," Charles said. "We can scan the snake from the trunk to find out if there's a soul piece inside her. However, I would suggest that, if she is, we wait to destroy her last. We don't want Voldemort to know that we're searching for his horcruxes."

Dumbledore also suggested that the 6th horcrux might belong to either Griffindor or to Ravenclaw, since Hufflepuff's cup was used.

"That's possible," Charles said, "but it seems that all the others belonged to heirs of Slytherin, except for the cup. The ring, the necklace, the diary, the snake, and even Voldemort's own soul piece were owned by heirs of Slytherin. That's five out of 7. The cup seems to be an anomaly. I think we should be looking for something that belonged to Tom Riddle."

"Hang on," Harry said. "Since we're not sure of what they are, why not just look in the places we think he may have hidden them. Professor, you said he would probably hide them at places that were important to him. His mother lived in the Gaunt House and was probably born there; his father lived and died in the Riddle Manor; his mother died at the orphanage where Tom Riddle was born and he lived there for 17 years; he lived at Hogwarts for 7 years and learned magic there; the only job he ever held was at Borgin and Burkes. That's five different places that were important parts of his life."

"Intriguing," said Dumbledore. "I think you may be on to something."

"That still leaves us two more places to look, though," he said.

"There's another place," said Dumbledore. "Where the children of the orphanage went on holiday each year, there's a cave. Tom Riddle took two children in that cave and terrorized them. That could be another important place to him."

"What about the years he roamed about as a spirit?" Sirius asked. "Does anyone know where he was?"

"Not for certain," Dumbledore said, "although I think that he might consider those years similar to the ones you spent in Azkaban. If you were looking for a place that meant something special to you, would you choose Azkaban?"

"I might," Sirius said. "It wasn't a happy place, but it definitely had an affect on my life. Part of who I am today is because of the things I experienced in Azkaban."

"That's a good point," Remus said. "It seems the only place he lived where he might have had some happiness was Hogwarts."

"When he was a wandering spirit, he didn't kill anybody," Harry said. "At the other places, someone died. The last people he killed before he was vanquished were—" The color drained from his face and his eyes widen. "Godric's Hollow," he whispered. "That's where he marked me as his equal—the one who has the power to vanquish him."

Charles took a piece of parchment from the desk and began to make a list:

Gaunt House

Riddle Manor

Orphanage

Cave

Hogwarts

Borgin and Burkes

Godric's Hollow

"That's 7 places," he said. "That's two more than we need. However, we should check all of them."

He made a second list:

Gaunt's ring

Slytherin's locket

Riddle's diary

Hufflepuff's cup

Nagini

Voldemort

Probably something of Ravenclaw, Griffindor, or Slytherin

"Granddad?" Harry said quietly. "You don't think that I could be a horcrux, do you?"

Charles and Albus looked at each other questioningly. "I don't think so, Harry," Charles said. "But we can find out pretty quickly."

"That's ridiculous!" Sirius said. "Everything else has been something belonging to one of the founders or Slytherin's heir. Harry isn't any of those things."

"Actually, he is," Charles said. "Harry is Griffindor's heir."

There was silence in the room for a good minute. Harry finally broke it by asking quietly, "I am?"

"You are," Charles answered him.

Sirius frowned. "I wonder why James never told us. If he were an heir of Griffindor, he would have told us something that important."

"Yes, he would," Charles said, smiling fondly. "James would not have been able to resist bragging about being Griffindor's heir. His mother and I thought it best to wait until he was older to tell him, but we never got the chance."

"Despite that, I really doubt that Harry is a horcrux," Remus said. "Why would Voldemort make a horcrux that he intended to destroy? That would be a waste of one of his soul pieces."

"That's true," Albus said. "He was trying to kill you at Godric's Hollow, Harry. And when the curse rebounded, it was too late for him to make a horcrux."

"I want to be scanned, anyway," Harry said, his voice quivering with emotion. "I want to know for sure. If I am, that means that Voldemort can't die as long as I'm alive. To vanquish Voldemort, I'm going to have to die."

Charles went over to Harry and knelt in front of him. "Harry, listen to me," he said, gently grasping his grandson's shoulders. "I don't think you are a horcrux. I think your mother's sacrifice would have protected you from being possessed by Voldemort's soul. Remember that he couldn't even touch you before he used your blood in the ritual? Remember what happened in the Ministry when he possessed you? He was in agony, Harry. He was forced to flee. Severus said it took him a while to recover from that. However, if we find that you are, I want you to know that there are ways to stop Voldemort without harming you. You don't have to die, Harry. Do you understand?"

"But the prophecy says 'neither can live while the other survives;' that 'one must die at the hand of the other.'"

"There are ways of fulfilling the prophecy that do not involve your death. I'm your grandfather, and I love you. I'm not going to let you die, Harry. I lost my wife and son; I'm not going to lose my grandson. Do you understand me?"

Harry stared into his grandfather's eyes which were glistening with unshed tears. "Yes, Sir," he whispered.

Charles pulled him into his arms and gave him a fierce hug. "Good, then let's do the scan so we can put your mind at ease."

Five minutes later, Harry was leaping around the library, jumping on chairs, sprinting over the back of the couch, slapping peoples' backs, ruffling everyone's hair, gently tugging Dumbledore's beard, dancing an Irish jig on the desk, and whooping loud enough to wake the dead. His family was laughing and enjoying the show. Dobby and Winky were watching in wide-eyed amazement from behind the control room door, not sure whether to be happy or frightened.

"I'm not a horcrux! I'm not a horcrux! Woooooohoooooooo! I'm not a horcrux!"

Sirius leaned over and spoke quietly to Remus. "I'm giving him one more minute of this, and then I'm stunning him."

"All right, all right," Dumbledore said, trying to comb the tangles out of his beard with his long fingers. "Settle down now, Harry. I know you're happy, but I think you're taking the celebration a bit too far."

"Can I call you Grandpa?" he asked, jumping up and down on the sofa.

"No," Dumbledore said. "Now, settle down. We've got something else we need to discuss."

Harry swung his feet forward and flopped down on the couch, landing on his backside. "All right. I'm settled."

"I think it's imperative that we begin the search for horcruxes as soon as possible. We should go at night, after Voldemort retires for the evening. We should probably start with the Gaunt house and go down the list that Charles made. I don't know how long this will take, or what time we'll begin, since it all depends on Voldemort's sleeping schedule, but I think we would all do well to rest as much as possible during the day so we'll be at our best at night. The horcruxes will be well warded. This will be dangerous. We must be able to keep our wits about us."

Just then, Dobby stuck his head out of the control room. "Harry Potter's Granddad, Sir! There be unusualness on the big portrait!"

Charles ran into the control room, followed by everyone else.

On the monitor, they saw five children about Harry's age standing in front of Voldemort. Harry recognized them as Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle, Nott, and Parkinson.

"You have been summoned here," Voldemort said, "because your fathers failed me. However, I am going to give you a chance to make up for their stupidity. I have a task for each of you. If you succeed, I will allow you to receive my mark, despite the fact that you're only children. However, if you fail, your parents will be killed."

"Bloody hell!" said Sirius. "How are they supposed to respond to that?"

For the first time, Harry actually felt sorry for the Slytherins. They were visibly frightened, even though they tried to hide it.

"We'll take care of this right now," Charles said angrily, punching buttons into the control panel.

Suddenly, the children who had been standing before Voldemort disappeared. Voldemort stood up angrily. "Bella!" he shouted, and she came running into the room. He stopped her from kneeling. "Those children who were here—where did they go?"

Bella looked around the empty room. "My Lord, I don't know! I was just outside the door! No one left this room!"

"Crucio!"

"Sirius and Harry, stay here," Charles said. "Remus and Albus, come with me." They left the control room quickly.

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The five Slytherins suddenly found themselves in a park. They looked around in confusion, and then Malfoy drew his wand.

"I don't know where we are or how we got here, but we'd better be prepared," he said, and the others drew their wands, also.

Suddenly three men appeared. One of them waved his hand, and their wands were gone. They reappeared in the man's hand. "Who do we have here?" the man asked.

Another man spoke, and the Slytherins recognized him as their headmaster.

"I believe we have the honor of a visit from Miss Pansy Parkinson and Misters Draco Malfoy, Gregory Goyle, Vincent Crabbe, and Theodore Nott. Welcome, children," he said, smiling.

"What's going on, Headmaster?" Draco asked. "How did we get here?"

"We noticed that you were in a spot of trouble, so we thought we might lend a hand," Dumbledore said. "I hope you don't mind."

The teenagers looked at each other questioningly, and then turned back to the men. "I recognize Lupin," Draco said, looking at Charles. "But who are you?"

"My name isn't important," Charles said, smiling. "Let's just say that I'm your guardian angel. You do believe in angels, don't you Mr. Malfoy?"

Draco ignored him and turned to Dumbledore. "Why did you take us out of there? He's going to kill our families!"

"No, Mr. Malfoy, he's not. We can protect your families, if you so desire." He turned to Pansy. "Miss Parkinson, why don't you and I have a little talk? Mr. Malfoy, if you would go with—" his eyes twinkled, "your guardian angel, and Mr. Lupin, if you wouldn't mind entertaining our other guests for a moment?"

Albus led Pansy to one of the tents while Charles took Malfoy to another.

"Well, boys," Remus said, turning to the other three. "Have any of you ever ridden a paddleboat?"

The three boys looked at each other, then at Lupin. They shook their heads, and Remus grinned. "Well, let me show you what to do, then."

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Inside the tent, Charles asked Draco to sit, then sat down across from him. "Mr. Malfoy, I know the situation you're in, and I want to help you."

"Why do you want to help me?" Draco asked. "What do you care?"

"I care because I don't want to see anything bad happen to you, Draco. I want to protect you. I know that your father's in Azkaban and that Voldemort has threatened to kill him and your mother. Do you want to be a Death Eater, Draco? Do you want to kneel before a man who turns on those who were loyal to him?"

Draco looked uncomfortable. "My father made a mistake," he said softly. "The Dark Lord doesn't allow mistakes."

"Do you ever make mistakes, Draco? I know I do. I don't know anyone who hasn't made a mistake, do you?"

Draco shook his head.

"I can protect you and your parents, Draco. I can bring them here where they will be safe."

"Where is here?" Draco asked.

Charles smiled. "I can't tell you that. Let's just say that it's the safest place on Earth. There is no way that anyone can come here without my personal invitation, and I'm not going to give that to Voldemort. He can't find this place, Draco. I promise you that."

"Why should I believe you? I don't even know who you are." He hesitated. "You look like Potter," he said in disgust.

"Which Potter would that be?"

Draco huffed. "Is there more than one? _The_ Potter. The boy-who-lived. The Chosen One. Saint Potter the Griffindor who can do no wrong."

"Ah, you must mean Harry Potter, then. You don't like Harry Potter?"

"He's the bane of my existence," Draco said, and Charles laughed.

"Well, putting the bane of your existence aside, what do you want to do, Mr. Malfoy? Do you want to stay here under my protection? Allow me to bring your parents here? Or do you want me to obliviated you and send you back to Voldemort?"

Draco looked thoughtful. "Are those my only choices?"

"I'm afraid so," Mr. Malfoy.

"You can bring my father here?"

"I can bring your mother here, and I can move your father to a protected area. He will still be in a cell, but in a more humane place than Azkaban. He'll have 3 meals a day, books to read, 45 minutes of sunshine a day; he'll be able to take showers, and if he's sick, he'll receive medical treatment."

"Would I be able to visit him?"

"Only with another person present."

"Such as?"

"Someone like Professor Dumbledore, Mr. Lupin, or me."

Draco sighed. "I'm afraid my father would kill me if I did that," he said.

"Why is that?"

"Because he would want me to follow the Dark Lord."

"Is that what you want?"

Draco hesitated. "I don't want to follow anybody," he whispered, and then spoke louder. "I don't want to kneel in the dirt and wonder when someone's going to crucio me for breathing wrong. I just want to live my life."

"We all want that, Draco. However, none of us will be able to live as we wish until Voldemort is gone."

Draco leaned toward him. "I want Voldemort gone," he said. "But I don't want to be a part of Potter and Dumbledore's little band of do-gooders any more than I want to be a part of the Dark Lord's."

"Why is that?"

Draco looked at him as though the answer was obvious. "Because they're Griffindors," he said. "They rush into things without thinking. They think everybody is the same. They don't think that purebloods are any better than mud-bloods. They make friends with half-breeds and werewolves and do all that hero stuff. How can I follow someone like that?"

"Why would you have to follow them, Draco? You're free to make up your own mind about things. You don't have to follow Harry Potter or Albus Dumbledore. But just because you don't want to follow them doesn't mean you can harm them."

"I don't want to harm them," Draco said. "Well, I wouldn't mind throwing a hex or two at Potter, but I don't want to kill him or anything." He sighed. "How long would I have to stay here?"

"Only until it's safe for you to leave."

"How long will that be?"

"I don't know, Draco. I wish I did. When school starts back, will you feel safe at Hogwarts?"

Draco thought a moment, and then nodded. "I think so."

"If you decide to accept my protection, I'll give you a medallion to wear. If you find yourself in danger, the medallion will bring you back here. Would that make you feel safer?"

Draco nodded.

"All right, then. What is your choice?"

"I want you to protect me and my parents."

Charles nodded and started to stand. "I'll have your father moved immediately. How can I find your mother?"

"She's at Malfoy Manor in Wiltshire."

Charles nodded. "I'll have her here before the night is over. In the meantime, why don't you choose a tent for you and your mother?"

Draco grinned. "My mother's going to hate this," he said, standing up and following Charles out of the tent.

Like Draco, Crabbe and Goyle accepted the protection. Pansy and Nott wanted to be returned to the Dark Lord. Charles took them into a tent, obliviated them, and transported them to the Leaky Cauldron. There was no way he was going to send them back to Voldemort.

"I hate this!" he said. "They're just children, but there's nothing I can do about it."

"Don't worry," Albus said, patting his back. "I have found that sometimes people have to make a few wrong choices before they decide to make the right one. There will be other chances for those two."

"I hope so," Charles said. "I just hope they don't wait until it's too late."

"It's never too late to make the right choice," Dumbledore said.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Harry stumbled into breakfast the following morning, still half asleep. All three of his guardians were already seated at the table. Winky put his plate in front of him, and he began to eat. After realizing that the room was quiet, he stopped with a forkful of scrambled eggs raised to his mouth and looked around. Everyone was watching him, amused about something.

"What?" he asked, reaching up to smooth down his hair, thinking that his appearance had something to do with their behavior.

Sirius cleared his throat. "Allow me," he said to the others, and then began to read from the front page of the _Daily Prophet_.

_**Death Eater, Peter Pettigrew, Captured by Harry Potter**_

**_Sirius Black Cleared of Any Wrongdoing_ **

By George Bartholomew

_In a press conference yesterday morning, Rufus Scrimgeour, Minister of Magic, announced that Harry Potter, the Chosen One, had captured Peter Pettigrew, a Death Eater and the true right-hand man of You-Know-Who. Under veritaserum, Pettigrew confessed to the crimes that Sirius Black had been accused of 15 years before. Mr. Black spent 12 years in Azkaban before being the first man to escape from the Wizarding prison. This vindication comes too late for Sirius Black, the godfather of Harry Potter. It is believed that he lost his life in the battle that took place in the Department of Mysteries in June of this year. Witnesses say that he died defending his godson from Death Eaters._

_Mr. Scrimgeour apologized to the friends and family of Sirius Black for the ministry having wrongly imprisoned him without a trial. His estate will be awarded damages in the amount of 1,200,000 galleons—100,000 for each year he was incarcerated. _

"_With our world at war, we become so determined to punish the guilty that we sometimes imprison the innocent," Scrimgeour stated. "We enthusiastically carry out our duties, forgetting that not all suspects are criminals. We see so much that is wrong in our world that we forget all the things that are right. I have been guilty of this myself in the short time I've been your minister, and I am determined to right the wrongs that have been committed by me and by those who do my bidding. After a conversation with Harry Potter yesterday, I had my staff look into the recent arrests. We found that of 21 people arrested, 7 were innocent of any crimes. Those people were released immediately and awarded damages. _

"_It was not only the discovery that an innocent man had been imprisoned for 12 years that induced me to reevaluate my policies. It was a conversation I had with Mr. Potter that prompted me to take a closer look at my own actions. Yesterday, I asked Mr. Potter this question: 'What would it take for you to support me, Harry?' I will never forget his answer. He said, 'Professor Dumbledore once told me that we must choose between what is right and what is easy. By arresting innocent people, you have chosen to do what is easy. When you choose to do what is right, I'll support for you.' _

"_It was Mr. Potter and his guardian Remus Lupin who captured Peter Pettigrew and brought to light the injustices done to Sirius Black. This young man is not only a brave individual, but he has become the conscience of this administration. I no longer seek the support of Harry Potter or of any one else. I intend to earn it. From this day forward, I will choose to do what is right over what is easy." _

Harry, who had sat motionless throughout the reading with the same forkful of eggs raised to his mouth, was speechless.

"I am so proud of you, Harry," Sirius said.

"As am I," his grandfather told him, patting him on the back.

"We're all proud of you, Harry," Remus said. "We were impressed by what you said to Scrimgeour yesterday, but I would never have believed that it would make a difference in the way he runs the Wizarding world. Obviously, he was just as impressed as we were."

Harry, blushing furiously, set his fork down on his plate and took a drink of pumpkin juice. He was glad that Scrimgeour had decided to do the right thing but hated that their conversation had been repeated in the _Daily Prophet_.

He finished his drink, sat the glass down, and looked around at the faces of his family. "So," he said. "Who wants to go flying today?"

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Having asked Dobby to meet with him in the Library, Charles and the house elf sat before the fireplace for a conversation. "How is it going with the prisoners, Dobby?" Charles asked. "Do you and Winky need more help?"

"No, Harry Potter's Granddad, Sir. Winky and Dobby don't need more help. We is doing fine. But Dobby had to make a change to prisoner's house."

"What kind of change?"

"Winky didn't like the smell in there, so Dobby made it so a shower and towels and clean clothes appear for prisoners every day. Shower appears 1 hour before breakfast and only stays for 30 minutes."

"I should have thought of that myself, Dobby. Thank you for doing that."

"It's not a problem, Harry Potter's Granddad, Sir."

Charles grinned. "You know, Dobby. I'd like it if you called me Charley. Would you do that for me, please?"

Dobby nodded.

"I also wanted to set up an area to put some galleons for you and Winky to use for the household, rather than take it from Harry and Remus's account. So, I've put a safe in the storage area near the kitchen. If you'll come with me, I'll show you how to open it."

Dobby followed him through the kitchen and into the storage area. On the floor in the far corner was a very small rubbish bin that Dobby had not noticed before. It had a foot pedal that, when stepped on, caused the top to open.

"Dobby, place your foot on the pedal gently," Charles said. Dobby obeyed, and when the top opened, he looked inside. It was empty. "Now, take your foot off and say '10 galleons' then open it again."

"Ten galleons," said Dobby, and then opened the rubbish bin. Inside was a small bag containing 10 galleons."

"That is a good trick!" said Dobby. "Dobby will show Winky and we will use this money."

"Thanks, Dobby. Oh, by the way, we have eight guests in the new Room of Requirement. Would you make sure that they get plenty to eat and whatever they need?" He thought about that for a moment, the added, "Make that whatever _reasonable_ requests they have. If they ask for anything unusual, let me know, and I'll decide whether or not they can have it."

"They's not prisoners?"

"No, and two of them are children, but the older ones may not always be pleasant. I think you know some of them, Dobby. Draco Malfoy and his mother are here. However, they are not allowed to hurt you or Winky. If they try, you have permission to protect yourselves."

"Dobby not allow Winky to get hurt," he said. "And Dobby will protect himself. We is free house elves now."

"Good for you, Dobby," Charles said, patting him on the shoulder. "And thank you for all you and Winky do for Harry. He cares a lot about the two of you."

"Winky and Dobby cares a lot about Harry Potter, too." Dobby said, his huge eyes glistening. "Harry Potter is our friend."

"I think Harry thinks of you more as family, Dobby," Charles said, and then left before the elf burst into tears.

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When Dobby and Winky arrived in the Room of Requirement, they discovered two children riding the carousel and two very large teenage boys racing paddleboats.

At the Malfoy tent, they found Mrs. Malfoy and Draco in the lounge, talking.

"Dobby and Winky bring breakfast for Malfoy family," Dobby said. "But must tell you that we is free house elves now. Dobby will not allow anyone to hurt Winky or Dobby. If you have any _reasonable_ requests, Dobby and Winky will do the best to provide for you."

Narcissa and Draco moved to the table in the dining area and allowed the elves to serve them breakfast.

"Is my father here?" Draco asked.

"Mr. Malfoy is in Granddad Charley's prison," Dobby answered.

"Is he being treated well?"

"He is treated very good. He gets shower every day and clean clothes. He walks in park in the sunshine every day. He gets books to read and three meals a day."

"What kind of food does he get?" Draco asked.

"Same food as you." Dobby told him.

Draco seemed impressed. The food was actually very good.

"Who's Granddad Charley?" he asked.

"Granddad Charley is who is protecting you from getting killed by Dark Lord," Dobby told him.

"Is he the one who looks like Potter?"

Dobby frowned. "Granddad Charley looks like Granddad Charley."

Draco snorted and his mother frowned at him. "Sorry," he said. "So Dobby, where are we?"

"You is here in the woods, Master Draco."

"But where are the woods located?"

Dobby leaned toward the boy and whispered. "In very secret place. No one knows where but Granddad Charley. You is very, very safe here."

Draco gave him a wry look. "Thanks for the information," he said sarcastically.

Dobby smiled. "You is very welcome, Master Draco." He and Winky popped out of the tent.

Mrs. Crabbe and Mrs. Goyle were sitting in the park watching their children play when Dobby and Winky arrived. "Dobby and Winky bring breakfast for Crabbe and Goyle families," Dobby said. "Would families like to have picnic table in park?"

The ladies said they would, so Winky snapped her fingers and the table appeared, along with their food. Mrs. Goyle went over to the lake and called the children. Gregory and Vincent turned their paddleboats toward the shore, and the two little girls on the carousel hopped off and shared a paddleboat to the shore.

"This is a very nice place," Mrs. Crabb said. "The children are having a good time."

"Dobby and Winky is glad children are happy. If families need anything, tell Dobby and Winky and we gets it for you."

"We will," said Mrs. Goyle. "Thank you."

Dobby and Winky popped out of the Room of Requirement.

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After lunch, Charles Potter appeared in the Room of Requirement to check on their guests. Draco had come out of the tent and joined his two friends in a paddleboat race. He watched them for a moment before making his presence known. Draco, Gregory, and Vincent were laughing like young children, splashing each other when they got near enough, and generally having a good time.

Charles walked over to the lake and waved Draco over. "Mr. Malfoy," he said. "I promised you a visit with your father. Would you like to see him now?"

"Can my mother come?" he asked.

"Of course."

Draco got out of the boat and ran to his mother's tent. They appeared a moment later. Charles led them to another tent and motioned them in. Inside the tent was a door, which he opened, and they walked through.

They found themselves in a small room with a long table. Lucius Malfoy sat on one side of the table. On the other side were two chairs for his visitors. They sat down facing him, and Charley stood at the door.

"How are you, Lucius?" Narcissa asked.

"I'm well," he said. "And you?"

"Draco and I are managing quite well, thank you."

Lucius looked at his son. "Why am I here, Draco?" he asked, and then nodded toward Charles. "That man said that it was at your request."

"Yes, Sir," Draco said. "I asked for you to be moved to a better place."

Lucius leaned toward him and whispered. "Why would you do that? Did you not realize that the Dark Lord would come for me?"

Draco shook his head. "He wasn't coming, Father. He was upset with you for failing at the Department of Mysteries. He was going to have you killed."

Lucius stared at his son in shock. "How do you know that?"

"Aunt Bella came yesterday to take me to him. He told me that you had failed him and that he was going to give me a task to make it up to him. If I succeeded, he would mark me. If I failed, he would kill you and Mother."

"And the task?" Lucius asked.

"I never found out. Before he could tell me, I ended up here. But, Father, I don't believe the task would have been possible for me to do. I got the feeling that the Dark Lord was setting me up so that he could kill us all as a punishment."

"You do not question the Dark Lord!" Lucius whispered furiously.

Draco looked at him unbelievingly. "No, Father. _You_ do not question the Dark Lord. I am not a Death Eater. I don't kneel or kow-tow to anyone. I won't stand there and be bullied and manipulated and tortured by that mutated half-blooded monster, and then kiss his feet and say, 'Oh, thank you, Master. I'm not worthy to kneel in your shadow!'"

Lucius stared at him in disbelief. "How dare you!" he spat. "How dare you imply that I—"

"I didn't imply anything, Father. I know! I know how he talks to his 'loyal followers;' how he crucios you when you make a mistake, or even when you don't. I heard him say that those who were captured at the DoM weren't worthy to serve him because you failed at a 'simple task.' I can just imagine what kind of simple task he would give 5 16-year-olds. He probably wanted us to kill Harry Potter when he himself has tried and failed to do it five times. Do you really think he meant to mark us, Father? Do you really think he wants 16-year-old Death Eaters? Why? To be his pawns? Well, I'm nobody's pawn, Father, including yours!"

He stood and turned to Charles Potter who was still standing in front of the door. "I'm ready to leave now," he said.

"Good-bye, Lucius," Narcissa said, standing and following her son out the door. Neither of them turned to look back at the man sitting at the table.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

It was obvious that the Gaunt house had been filthy even before the cobwebs, layers of dust, and rotting leaves blown in from the broken windows had taken over. Dirty dishes had been left piled in the sink, on the small wooden table, and on every counter space in the kitchen. There were more in what once had been a living room, scattered across tabletops and left on the floor. The food that had been left on the dishes had shriveled and hardened and was covered with mold. Brown-colored stuffing protruded from worn areas and tears in the couch and chairs, the colors of the furniture no longer decipherable. Rats, mice, and larger animals had made nests and left droppings among shredded paper and old clothing.

From the control room, Charles scanned the area, seeking wards that might protect a horcrux. Finding nothing in the kitchen or living room, he moved the trunk upstairs into one of the bedrooms. "Oh, that's nasty," he said.

"Yeah, it is," Harry agreed. "Aunt Petunia would have a heart attack if she saw this place."

His grandfather chuckled. "I don't mean the room, Harry. I'm talking about the wards. There are some nasty spells on the drawer of that bedside table. There's one that, if you opened the drawer, would destroy the tissues in the hand that opened it. The skin would turn black, the muscles would atrophy, and the bones would shrivel. It would eventually spread up the arm and to the rest of your body."

"Can you take the wards down?"

"I'm trying," he said, twisting knobs and pushing buttons. "I'm going to try to open the drawer and see what happens."

Harry watched the monitor while his grandfather continued to work at the control panel. After a moment, the drawer began to slowly open. A burst of orange light shot out of the drawer, turned into a mist that hung in the air for a moment, and then slowly dissolved.

"What was that, Granddad?"

"That was a little curse that was preventing me from taking down the wards. If I'd breathed in that mist, my lungs would have turned to stone."

Harry shivered. "Did you get rid of the curse that would turn your hand black?"

"No, I bypassed it. It's still there. I'm taking down the wards now so I can remove whatever is in the drawer."

"Are you sure it's a horcrux?"

"Yes. The scan revealed that there is definitely a soul piece in there."

"Should I go get Professor Dumbledore?"

"No, let's wait until I get it out. I need to concentrate, and he puts me a bit on edge when he stands over my shoulder watching and commenting."

"Do I put you on edge, Granddad?"

Charley smiled. "No, actually. Your presence has a calming affect."

"Is that why you asked Sirius and Remus to keep him occupied?"

Charley chuckled. "You don't miss a thing, do you? Ah, here we go."

Harry watched as a heavy gold ring floated out of the drawer and over to the bed where it dropped on the filthy mattress.

"Now, for the hard part. Harry, there's a little switch hidden behind this panel that I didn't mention in the book. When I flip the switch, it's going to perform an unforgivable curse. I want you to realize how serious this is. I have to kill the soul piece with the Avada Kedavra curse. You know, of course, that this curse is against the law and carries a life sentence in Azkaban."

Harry nodded. "Yes, Sir. I know."

"It's much easier to sit safely inside this room and flip a switch than it is to stand in front of a person and use your wand, but the results are the same. If you use this curse, someone or something is going to die. I want you to think long and hard before you ever use that hidden switch, Harry. Will you promise me that?"

"Yes, Sir. I promise."

Charles nodded. "All right. Now, you can go get Albus."

Harry left the control room and found Dumbledore, Remus, Sirius, and Dobby sitting at the kitchen table eating biscuits and drinking tea. "Professor, Granddad asked me to come get you," Harry said.

"Ah, good," Albus said, standing up and following Harry out of the kitchen. "He's found a horcrux, then?"

"Yes, sir. It's the ring."

"Excellent! Excellent! Let's take a look at it, then."

Charles had waited until Harry was out of the room before flipping the switch that would perform the Avada Kedavra curse. It wasn't that his grandson didn't know that he was performing the unforgivable, but that, even though it was necessary, he didn't want to do it in his presence.

When Harry returned with the others, he zoomed in on the ring so that everyone could take a closer look. "Should we bring it in or leave it there?" he asked Albus.

After a long discussion, it was decided to put the ring back in the drawer and reset the wards. No one knew if Voldemort ever checked the safety of his soul pieces, but if he did, it would appear as if it were still intact. Only a thorough examination would reveal that the ring was no longer a horcrux.

When the ordeal was over, the group gathered in the library for a celebratory glass of wine. Even Harry was allowed a glass. After congratulating themselves for a job well done, they retired for the evening.

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Gregory and Vincent, with their mothers and sisters, had also visited their fathers the previous day. Unlike Lucius, Misters Crabbe and Goyle were not as eager to have their sons become Death Eaters at 16, especially after hearing that the Dark Lord had threatened the lives of the parents if their sons had failed at whatever task he was planning to assign them. They were both relieved that their wives and children were safely tucked away from Voldemort's wrath. And though they weren't happy about being locked up, they were glad to be away from Azkaban and the possibility that other Death Eaters might enter the prison to make examples of them.

Like the morning before, the Goyle and Crabbe families had breakfast on a picnic table beside the lake. This time, however, the Malfoys joined them.

Narcissa had perked up a bit since her visit with her husband. She no longer sat alone in her tent, talking with no one but her son. The evening before, she had accompanied Hazel Crabbe and Margaret Goyle through the woods to the beach. They had walked along the shore talking about trivial things while their children splashed in the ocean. That evening, they had spread blankets on the beach and eaten their dinner there. At one point, she had actually laughed.

Little by little, the coldness that had been so much a part of Narcissa since her marriage to Lucius had begun to melt and flow out with the tide. Hearing her son berate his father for the choices he had made had opened her eyes to the kind of man her son was becoming. She had never been prouder of him. His refusal to accept the dark mark and become a part of the thing that had disgraced her husband and the Malfoy name had given her hope. Watching her proud husband cower before that sadistic monster had been humiliating for Narcissa. She had lost all respect for the man she had married, and as a result, respect for herself. Now, she was proud again, proud to be a Black and to have a son who was more Black than Malfoy—a son who would redeem the Malfoy name.

After breakfast, Hazel and Margaret persuaded her to join them on the island to ride the carousel with their daughters. Draco said that he would ride with her across the lake and join her on the carousel if she would agree. "It'll be like old times, Mum," he said. "When I was a little boy and you would ride beside me."

If Draco was going to do it, so were Vincent and Gregory. And that is how Harry, Sirius, and Remus found them that morning when they entered the second Room of Requirement, which they had begun to refer to as The Safe Haven.

Draco watched from his seat on a wooden dragon as the three newcomers made their way to the island in paddleboats. When they arrived, they jumped on the moving carousel and selected their own animals. Pure Potter, of course, chose to ride a Phoenix. Lupin had hopped on a Griffin and Draco's cousin, Sirius Black who, until that moment, he thought was dead, had selected a hippogriff. Potter's phoenix was situated between the two young girls.

"Are you Harry Potter?" one of them asked.

"Yes," Harry said. "What's your name?"

"Gwendolyn Goyle," she answered.

"That's quite a mouthful. May I call you Gwen?"

The little girl nodded, and Harry turned to her companion. "And what's your name?" he asked.

"Angela Crabbe."

"That's a pretty name," he said. "May I call you Angie?"

She nodded, giggling.

Leave it to Potter to have girls goggling over him, even the young ones.

"Hey, Potter!" Draco called. "What are you doing here?"

Harry turned so that he was facing Draco, riding backwards on his phoenix. "I'm here to visit you, Draco," he said pleasantly.

"Thanks for ruining my day," Draco said.

"I'm not here to ruin your day. I wondered if you, Greg, and Vince wanted to join us in a game."

"What kind of game?"

"It's a war game. We divide into two groups, hide in the woods, and shoot balls of paint at each other with special wands."

"And you figured you, Lupin, and Black would be one team against Greg, Vince, and me?"

"Actually, I was hoping that you, Vince, and me could play against Sirius, Remus, and Greg."

Draco shrugged. "That could work." He turned his attention to Sirius who was just ahead of Potter. "Hey, Black!" he called.

Sirius turned his head to look at him.

"You're supposed to be dead."

"I was," Sirius said.

Draco waited for an explanation, but it didn't come. Curiosity got the best of him. "So, what happened?" he asked.

Sirius shrugged. "I got better."

Draco snorted, and his mother gave him a glare. "Sorry," he said, still grinning. To his surprise, his mother laughed quietly.

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"All right," Sirius said, conjuring 8 colorful wands. "This is a game we played at the auror academy. We used to call it DASH, which is an acronym for dodge, aim, shield, and hide. Those are the 4 most important things you can do in a battle. Dodge and shield are defensive actions; aim and hide or offensive."

Draco looked skeptical. "How is hiding an offensive action?" he asked.

"Because it allows you to execute a surprise attack," Sirius said. "If your opponent is good at deflecting spells, your only options are to get in a lucky shot or surprise him. This game helps aurors to practice and perfect those skills." He divided the wands into two groups.

"Angela," he said, handing her a gold-colored wand. "You are the queen of the Blue group, so you get the gold wand. Greg, you get the green; Harry the red; and Draco the silver."

He turned to his own group. "Now, for our team. Gwen, as queen of the Red team, I present to you your golden wand," he said, bowing. She giggled. "Vince gets the green; and since silver is not your favorite color, Moony," he said, grinning. "You get the red, which leaves me the silver."

Draco snickered and Remus threw Sirius a wry look.

"Now, the person who got the silver wand is the leader of your group." He looked down at his own wand. "Oh, look, Moony! I got the silver wand for our group!"

"How surprising," Remus said.

"Anyway, the wands on our team shoot red paint, and your wands shoot blue paint. All you have to do is aim and say 'fire.' Any questions?"

"What are the rules of the game?" Draco asked.

"Oh, I suppose that might be good to know." Sirius said. "The object of the game is to either kill or capture your opponents. A kill would be a shot to the head or heart. If you get shot there, you're dead, which means you're out of the game. If you get shot anywhere else, you're injured. It takes three injuries to put you out of commission. An injured person can still fire, but they can't move around as easily. If you get shot in your right arm, you have to wield the wand with your left. If you get shot in the leg, stomach, or back, you can fire, but you can't walk around. If you just get grazed or nicked, you can continue as if nothing happened. Oh, should you capture someone, their team can attempt a rescue, so you'll need to guard your prisoners. The game ends when one team kills or captures all the members of the other tea or at lunchtime, whichever comes first. Anything else?"

"Can we use our own wands?" Draco asked.

"Not to attack the other team, but you can and should use it for other purposes. In fact, you can use anything you can find in the woods."

"What if you don't have a wand?" Angela asked.

"Then you, Your Majesty, will have your soldiers use theirs for you."

She giggled.

"All right. Let's separate, plan, and get started. No attacks for half an hour. Understood?"

Everyone did, so the two groups went their separate ways to plan.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Charles and Albus sat in front of the large monitor watching as Voldemort talked with Snape. The potions master had not been allowed to leave Riddle Manor since the night of the Granger attack. He had been tortured for short periods of time throughout his stay—enough to be painful, but not to do and permanent damage.

"Severus, you're very good at occlumency," Voldemort said. "I find it impossible to get deeply into your mind. Are you my good and faithful servant?"

"Yes, my Lord. My only desire is to serve you."

"Then I want you to drop your occlumency shields and give me free access to your mind."

Snape's expression did not change, but the color drained from his face.

"This is not good," Charles said. "We have to get him out of there now."

"Do it, then," Albus said. "We no longer need him to spy. Save him, Charley. If Voldemort gets inside his head, Severus is a dead man."

"I'll get him out, but you'd better meet him in the Safe Haven. With the boys playing war games in the forest, he may think he's under attack."

Albus got up and hurried out of the door they had added to the control room that led directly into what Harry called the Marauder's Tent. He entered the glade and waited only a moment before Severus appeared, looking stunned.

"Welcome, my boy," Albus said, going to him. "Welcome to what we like to call The Safe Haven."

"Albus, what happened? How did I get here? The Dark Lord was about to—"

"I know. I know all about it, my boy. That's why we brought you here. If Voldemort had gotten inside your mind, he would have discovered you were a spy and killed you. If you had refused to lower your shields, I'm afraid the encounter would have ended in the same result."

"But what am I going to do now? If I return—"

"You won't be returning, Severus. We've found a different way to spy on Voldemort's activities. You are free of that monster."

"But he'll find me—the dark mark—"

"As long as you're here, he can't summon you with the dark mark. Severus, I believe that Voldemort's days are numbered. And, I do believe that the number is very small."

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Harry slid behind a boulder where Draco had been hiding. He was panting from his mad dash through the forest. Red paint was dripping down his face. He tried to wipe it off with his sleeve.

"Potter! Were you shot in the head?" Draco whispered furiously.

"No!" he whispered back. "They just grazed me. It's running down from my hair."

Draco was relieved. Greg had already been taken out of the game. Now, there were just Draco, Potter, and Angie.

"Where's Angie?" Draco asked.

"I've got her hidden in one of the trees. I summoned my invisibility cloak, and she's hiding under it."

Draco nodded. "Good. Listen, I've got a plan."

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It had been half an hour since the Red Team had seen any sign of the enemy. Team A, which consisted of Sirius and Gwen, were moving silently from tree to tree. They were on a reconnaissance mission on the north side of the forest. Remus and Vincent, otherwise known as Team B, were on the south side, doing the same. Both teams were heading west to meet and plan their next move.

"Harry Potter," Angie whispered into a mirror from underneath the invisibility cloak. She was perched on a strong branch in one of the trees that Sirius had recently hidden behind. "Two of them just passed by, coming your way."

"Thanks, Your Majesty," he whispered back. "Activate Plan A. Over and out."

"That means they've split up," Draco whispered. "They're planning a surprise attack."

"Look," Harry whispered. "There's Sirius and Gwen heading toward the boulder—"

Draco grinned. "And look to the South, Potter. There's Lupin and Crabbe coming to meet them."

Harry and Draco watched as Sirius quietly signaled to Remus. Between Remus and Sirius, their late team member Greg was leaning against a boulder, talking to someone behind it.

"So, you're both injured?" Greg asked. "You two better separate before they find you, or we'll lose. Leave Angie here with me—yeah, I know I'm dead. I'm not helping you or anything—I know—I'm just sitting here waiting for the birds to pick at my flesh—oh, man! You should have seen this big bird come by and—"

By this time, both teams had crept close enough to the rock to attack from both sides. At Sirius signal, he and Gwen jumped behind the bolder from the north side at the same time that Remus and Crabbe pounced from the south side.

"Hold it right there!" Harry said, the tip of his paint-wand against Sirius's head. Draco had his at Remus's, and Angie had hers pointed at her brother's heart. "Don't anyone move, or this man's brains will be spattered all over that rock."

"Drop your wands," Draco said. "Both sets."

When the wands were on the ground, Angie collected them.

"You are now prisoners of war. Do you surrender, or do you want to go in the hard way?" Harry asked, hoping they'd say the hard way.

"We surrender," Sirius said. "Besides, I'm hungry. Is it time for lunch yet?"

"Prisoners only get bread and water," Draco told him.

"Then I'm not surrendering," Sirius said, grabbing his godson and knuckling his head.

Suddenly, the paint war turned into a free for all. By the time lunch was served, both teams were covered in red and blue paint.

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Severus heard a disturbance in the forest and pulled out his wand. Albus placed his hand on the potion master's arm. "There's no danger here, Severus. Put it away."

Snape lowered the wand, but did not put it away. He watched in confusion as 8 paint-covered creatures came out of the forest.

"Ah! It looks like the final battle was a violent one," Dumbledore said, his eyes twinkling. "Did we have a winner?"

"Our team won!" said one of the paint-soaked creatures whose voice sounded suspiciously like the Potter brat's. "Draco, Greg, Queen Angie, and I captured the entire Red Team without having to fire a shot!"

"Then I suppose there is some other explanation for all the paint," he said.

"Well, we couldn't end the battle without a good fight," said another creature whose voice sounded vaguely familiar.

Suddenly Snape gasped. "Black?"

"Yeah, Severus. It's me. Glad to see me?"

"But you're dead."

"No. I _was_ dead. I didn't care for it much, so I came back. Now, I'm not dead anymore."

"He got better," Draco said, snickering, and the others burst into laughter.

Severus considered the possibility that the Dark Lord had actually killed him—that he had finally died was now residing in Hell. He turned to Albus for an explanation. "Another time, my boy, another time. Now, let's see what Dobby and Winky have prepared for us today," he said, waving his hand toward the former soldiers who suddenly found themselves free of paint.

They all walked over to the large picnic table and sat. "Narcissa?" Snape asked, surprised. He looked around and saw the Goyles the Crabbes and the Malfoys sitting at the same table with Albus, Potter, Black, and Lupin. He shook his head to clear it. Something wasn't right here, and he was determined to find out what it was.

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In Little Hangleton, the Dark Lord was getting rather annoyed. "Bella!" he shouted, and the woman ran into the room, threw herself to her knees and kissed the hem of his robe. "Yes, my Lord?" she asked, her head bowed almost to the floor.

"Where is Severus?"

"I thought he was in here with you," she said, her voice quivering.

"I want you to have the wards checked," he said. "People are disappearing from my throne room without my consent! Make sure there are wards against portkeys. This never happened when Wormtail was here."

"I'm sorry, my Lord," she said.

"Crucio!" He held the curse for a few seconds, and then stopped it.

"Now, get my lunch. And take it to my room. I'm going to take a nap after I eat, and I don't want to be disturbed for any reason."

"Yes, my Lord," she said, getting to her feet with difficulty and hurrying out of the room. Voldemort left to make his way upstairs.

Charles switched on an alarm button to alert him if there was any activity on the screen, then left to join the others for lunch.

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"Ah, Charley!" Dumbledore said, as Charles came out of the Marauder Tent. "You're going to join us for lunch. Wonderful!"

Charles grinned at Albus and sat down beside his grandson, ruffling his hair before turning to his meal. "Good afternoon, everyone," he said.

Albus turned to Snape. "Severus, I don't believe you've met our host. This is Mr. Charles Potter. Charley, Severus Snape is our potion's master."

"Nice to meet you, Professor," Charles said, nodding to Snape.

Snape nodded in return. "Are you related to Harry Potter?" he asked.

"Yes. I'm his grandfather," he said.

Those at the table who had not been aware of this before looked at him in amazement.

"That's not possible," Hazel Crabbe said. "You can't be old enough to be his grandfather. You don't look a day over 40."

Charles smiled at her. "Thank you. That's quite a compliment. Let's see, it's 1996 now, so I'm actually 60 years old."

Margaret Goyle shook her head. "If you're 60, I'm 100," she said.

"Madame, if you're 100, I want the potion you've been using," he teased.

Mrs. Goyle giggled, blushing like a schoolgirl. "Oh, you!" she said.

Harry leaned toward him and asked softly, "How old are you really, Granddad?"

"Forty-five," he answered quietly. "Just nine years older than my son would be if he were alive."

Harry shook his head. "That's just weird."

"So you're the Granddad Charley that Dobby talks about," Draco said.

Charles chucked. "Yes, but that's better than what he called me before, which was Harry Potter's Granddad Sir."

The others laughed. "I'm not sure," Remus said, "but that might beat Harry Potter's Wheezy, which is what Dobby calls Ron Weasley."

Draco got a mischievous look on his face, and Harry caught it. "Don't even think it, Draco," he said. "Weasel is bad enough."

"I didn't say anything," Draco said defensively.

"No, but you were thinking about it."

"Do you read minds now, Potter?"

"No, but a blind grandmother could have read that look on your face."

"How about a game of quidditch after lunch?" Sirius asked, hoping to stop the fight before it got started. It worked, and for the rest of the meal, the boys talked about their favorite sport.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

After the quidditch match, Albus had returned to Hogwarts; Harry and Charley had gone to their rooms to rest; Remus was taking his shift in the Control Room; and Sirius had taken a long, hot shower and then had tried to take a nap. But he couldn't sleep, so he had gotten up and gone into the lounge to lie on the couch.

Sirius found he slept better at the pool. The sounds of Harry's laugher while splashing in the water lulled him to sleep. Or when Harry laid in the poolside lounge next to his, taking his own nap, Sirius was comforted by the sounds of his godson's breathing. It was when he was alone that he had problems getting to sleep. It was then, when he closed his eyes, he saw himself falling into the veil.

He knew how fortunate he had been. Not many people got the opportunity to return from the dead. But it was more than that. It was the fact that he had put himself in that position, taunting Bellatrix, not taking the fight seriously, that kept him awake. It was how close he had come to leaving his godson that caused him to be wracked with guilt when he closed his eyes.

He had been so stupid. As a teenager, he was a vain, attention-seeking, arrogant, self-centered prat. He didn't care about anyone other than his tight little circle of friends, the Marauders. He didn't even care about the girls he dated. He used them to satisfy his own physical needs, as well as his ego.

Lily had been the first girl he thought of as something other than a sex object. She had been his friend. She had always been honest with him. He loved her like he had never loved any other girl—like a sister. It never occurred to him to love her in any other way. She was James's girl, and James was like a brother to him. So Lily became his sister.

But Sirius had changed since his rescue from the veil. He no longer felt the need to seek attention. He no longer desired things he couldn't have. He had exactly what he wanted—a godson he loved more than he had ever loved anything in the world. More than he loved himself. He had a best friend who put up with him despite his faults. And he had Charles who had been the only man he had ever thought of as a father. And, yet, when he closed his eyes, he saw himself falling into the veil, and he realized how close he had come to losing it all—to never having any of it.

"Hello, Padfoot."

Sirius's gaze shot up to the portrait above the mantle. "James?"

James grinned. "Yep."

"What--how--where did you come from?"

"I've come from the great beyond," James said in an eerie voice.

Sirius snickered. "Oh, God, I'm glad to see you," he said, getting up from the couch and walking to the mantle. "I've needed to talk to you for 15 years."

James nodded. "I want to say something to you first, Padfoot. I know what happened, and I just want you to know that I'm sorry. It's all my fault, and if I could do anything to make up for it, I would."

Sirius frowned. "Hold on. You're apologizing to me? Bloody hell, Prongs, I'm the one who talked you into switching secret keepers. If it weren't for me, you and Lily would still be alive, and Harry would have a family."

"Harry has a family, Padfoot. He has you. I've talked with him, and he's told me all about you. He cares so much for you, Padfoot. He thinks of you and Remus as his parents." He grinned. "Of course, I find the implications of that little scenario a bit disturbing."

Sirius barked out a laugh. "Well, I do love Remus like a brother, but he's not really my type. I prefer someone with--you know--breasts."

"Look, Sirius, just let me say this, okay?"

Sirius nodded.

"I put you in danger by making you the decoy, both with Voldemort and the Ministry. I should have thought to let one person know that Peter was the secret keeper, in case anything happened. I should have told Dumbledore what we had done."

"I think we've hit a stalemate, Prongs," Sirius said, grinning. "Let's make a deal. I'll accept your apology, though I don't think you did anything wrong, if you'll accept mine."

James smiled at him. "It's a deal, Padfoot."

"So where have you been keeping yourself? I've been in this trunk for over a month. Why haven't I seen you before?"

"Actually, it's your fault. I've been trying to find a time to see you alone, and this is the first time I've gotten the opportunity. Damn, man! You must be as popular as you were when we were in school."

Sirius laughed. "Oh, it's a different type of popularity now, my friend. It's all family. There are no more women falling at my feet begging me to go out with them. I've gotten old, Prongs."

James snorted. "Yeah, you're an old man of 36 now, aren't you? Have you realized yet that you're only 9 years younger than my dad?"

Sirius groaned. "Thanks for pointing that out."

"So, where's Moony?"

"He's in the control room. I'll go get him."

"No, just go into Harry's room and get the empty frame off his nightstand. I'll move into that, and you can take me into the control room with you. Oh, and you prats to get more portraits and frames in here. It's going to get crowded in this one. Mum, Lily, and baby Harry want to visit you, too."

Sirius grinned. "I'll get that taken care of right away, old man."

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Severus Snape sat on the couch in the lounge area of his tent. In his hands, he held a gold chain with a medallion shaped into the initial P. Charles Potter had taken a hair from everyone's head, went into his tent, and then returned with the medallions.

"You're not prisoners here," he told them. "You can leave anytime you want. But with that medallion, you can also return. Just think or say the word Safe Haven, and you'll be brought back here. To leave, think of the place you want to go, as if you were going to apparate, and then say or think the name of the place. If you do leave, just be careful. Your lives are in danger."

He had also told Snape privately that as long as he was in the Safe Haven, the mark would not burn his arm. He had created a potions lab in the tent and offered to get him any ingredients he needed. Of course, he could also return to Hogwarts or go to Diagon Alley for the ingredients himself, then come back.

"These medallions are a bit different than portkeys," he had told the group. "It will transport you from anywhere, even a highly warded area such as Hogwarts or Azkaban. It will also transport you if you are chained to a wall. But, try not to get chained to a wall," he said, grinning. "Also, unlike a portkey, your medallion won't work for anyone else. It only works for you."

Snape, as well as the others in the Safe Haven, knew that they would eventually have to leave. However, for now, he intended to stay where he was. And it seemed that the others had the same intentions.

He had talked with Narcissa earlier and had learned from her what had happened between Draco and Voldemort, and then between Draco and Lucius. Snape couldn't be prouder of his godson. He had been afraid that Lucius's influence would turn the boy into a Death Eater. But he couldn't have been more wrong, thank God.

It had been strange seeing Potter and Draco talking together about quidditch as if they had not been rivals for the past 5 years. And when everyone went to play quidditch, Potter had asked Snape to be a chaser on his team. Black had been a beater on Draco's team. None of this made sense to him. What were they trying to do here?

And where did Charles Potter come from? He had disappeared around the time the Potters had gone into hiding. And he did not look like a man of 60. Somehow, he had traveled in time to the future, but a time-turner could not take someone that far in time. So what had happened? Snape sighed. It was a mystery, but he was determined to solve it, if for no other reason than his own satisfaction.

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There was another Order meeting that night. Remus transported out of the trunk to Grimmauld Place while Charles, Harry, and Sirius stayed in the control room to, hopefully, destroy another horcrux.

Tonight, they were going to the orphanage that had been Tom Riddle's home for 17 years. Albus, who had visited the place before, had given them the address.

"This place is almost as bad as the Gaunt house," Harry said, turning his nose up in disgust.

"At least it's deserted," Charles said. "It'll be easier for us to get the job done."

Everyone watched quietly as they entered the room that Albus had described as having belonged to Riddle. Charles ran a scan and discovered that there was a soul piece in the wardrobe. "What an idiot," Charles said. "He should have known that this would be the first place Albus would have looked."

"I think he's too arrogant to think that anyone could figure out that he had made horcruxes," Sirius said. "Or that anyone could get past his wards."

"You may be right," Charley said, as he turned a few knobs to determine what kind of wards had been set. "Let's just hope that he is wrong."

After a few moments, the door to the wardrobe opened emitting a flash of purple light. "Ouch," Charley said. "That would have hurt."

"What was it, Granddad?" Harry asked.

"That was a curse that would turn a person inside out," he said. "Voldemort's a very creative individual."

"He's a very psychopathic individual," Harry stated.

The two older men chuckled. "Where did you learn that word, Harry?" Sirius asked.

"I found it in a psychology book while I was trying to determine my cousin Dudley's personality."

"All right. Here we go," Charles said. And they watched as an item floated out of a box in the top of the wardrobe. Charles levitated it over to one of the beds and dropped it on the mattress. "What is that thing?" he asked.

He zoomed in to try to determine what Voldemort had used as a horcrux.

"It's a tooth!" Harry said.

"A human tooth," Sirius added.

"It's a baby tooth," Charles said. "One of the lower front teeth, which is usually one of the first that a child loses before growing his permanent teeth, so my guess is that this is Voldemort's baby tooth."

They all had a laugh, trying to imagine Voldemort saving his first baby tooth.

"All right, boys, I want to warn you that this part is not pretty," Charles said, reaching behind the control panel and feeling for the hidden switch. "So prepare yourselves."

He flipped the switch and the tooth was hit with a green light. A small diaphanous form floated out of the tooth, screaming. Harry put his hands over his ears and shut his eyes. After a moment, the sound stopped and the ghostly image was gone. "Was that Voldemort's soul?" he asked.

"It was a part of it," Charles said, returning the tooth to the box in the wardrobe and replacing the wards. "That's three down and three to go. If we're right, we just have the necklace, the cup, and the snake left to destroy."

"You know, seeing that baby tooth makes Tom Riddle seem a little more human, doesn't it?" Sirius asked. "I mean, you have to think that at one time he was a little boy with dreams and fears and hopes just like everyone else."

"Yes, but that was before he grew up and became a monster," Charles said. "We can't think of him like that, Sirius. It will be too hard to vanquish him if we do. He's not human anymore. I'm not sure if he ever was."

"He was, Granddad," Harry said. "I saw him once when he was in his 7th year in the Riddle Diary. He was a bad person, and he was very powerful, but he was human."

"Yes, but that was before he split his soul to the point of hardly having one anymore, Harry." He turned to look at his grandson. "He's evil. He killed your parents without a thought. He tried to kill you. He's tortured and killed hundreds of innocent people, including children. Our world will be in darkness if he's not defeated."

"I know, Granddad," Harry said. "Don't worry. I know what I have to do."


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

"Harry," his grandfather said at breakfast the next morning. "What would you think about starting occlumency lessons again?"

Harry groaned. "Please don't tell me you're going to ask Snape to start teaching me again."

"No, I was thinking about teaching you myself."

Harry looked intrigued. "Okay. I can handle that."

"How about starting first thing after breakfast? Have you made any other plans today?"

"Not really. After breakfast will be fine."

"Good, let's meet in the original Room of Requirement." He turned to look at the other two men at the table. "Unless you have plans to use it this morning."

Sirius shook his head. "No, I was going to help Moony make medallions for the Order members this morning."

"All right, then. We shouldn't be long, so it'll be free later if you change your mind."

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A white marble gazebo with a domed room and large marble columns stood on a small hill overlooking the ocean. On the floor of this structure, Harry Potter sat cross-legged on a thick red and gray paisley-decorated pillow, enjoying the view. Behind him, on a separate pillow, sat his grandfather.

"What color is the ocean, Harry?" his grandfather asked.

"Blue."

"Do you see the waves; the white caps; the gentle ripples beyond?"

Harry nodded.

"Take a good look at it, Harry, and remember it. Then close your eyes and picture it in your mind."

Harry let his eyes roam over the perfect view for a moment, then closed them.

"What do you hear, Harry, besides my voice?"

"The waves; sea gulls."

"Listen to the waves, and picture the ocean in your mind." He waited for a moment to give Harry time to adjust to the sounds. "Now, describe what you feel."

After a moment's pause, Harry said, "A breeze against my skin; a soft, cool, gentle breeze, and it seems to be carrying some of the ocean's spray. It feels moist."

"Continue to feel that cool, moist breeze while you listen to the waves and picture the ocean in your mind." He waited for about 30 seconds for Harry to experience the feeling. "Describe what you smell."

Harry took a deep breath in through his nose, and then let it out. "A tangy smell like – seaweed and salt."

"Breathe in the smells, Harry, and feel the breeze. Listen to the waves as you see the ocean in your mind."

Charles stayed silent for a full minute before speaking again. "I'm going to say some words, Harry. When you hear the one you like, tell me to stop."

Harry nodded, and Charles began: "Blue…. calm…. solitude…. peace…. love—"

"Stop," Harry said.

"Alright, take the word you liked, and as you see the ocean in your mind, hear the waves, feel the breeze, and smell the air, add that word to the sound of the waves; allow the waves to whisper that word over and over again."

Very slowly and quietly, Charles got up and left Harry alone.

He walked a few paces away from the gazebo, then conjured a bench and sat down. He looked at his watch thinking that, since it was his first time, Harry wouldn't last more than a minute or two, but if he could make it to five on the first day, he would be happy. He hoped to eventually work up to 15 minutes of meditation every morning before the occlumency lesson.

After 5 minutes had passed and Harry had not moved, Charles was impressed. After 10 minutes, he started to be a bit concerned. When 15 minutes passed, Charles got up and walked to the gazebo. "Harry?" he called softly. "Harry?" When he didn't get an answer, he knelt in front of his grandson and said, "Harry, you can stop now." Harry didn't move, so Charles reached out and touched his shoulder. The boy's eyes flew open and he looked at Charles as if surprised to see him there.

"Where were you, Harry?" Charles asked.

He smiled. "I was out there," he said, nodded toward the sea. "It was like—I was part of it. I was the water and the air and the salt. It—it's hard to explain."

Charles smiled. "You don't have to. Did you enjoy it?"

"Oh, yeah. It was—it was great!"

"Do you think you could do it again tomorrow?"

"Sure!"

He chuckled. "I want you to meditate like this for 15 minutes every morning after breakfast, and after your meditation, we'll start the lessons. But we'll start those tomorrow. All right?"

"Yeah, great. I can't wait."

Charles helped him up and they left the room of requirement.

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"Bella!" Voldemort shouted, and the door flew open. The dark-haired witch threw herself to the floor and kissed the hem of his robe. "Yes, my Lord?"

"Did you get the list from that Edgecomb woman?"

"Yes, Master."

"Then prepare for tonight's meeting. Assign each name to two of my followers. I want every person on that list dead before morning, along with their families."

"Yes, Master," Bella said, getting up and hurrying out of the room.

"We'll see if Dumbledore can protect all of his little army at once," he said.

"Bloody hell," Sirius said, staring at the screen. "Dumbledore's Army. He's going after the kids."

"Dobby!" called Remus, and the elf popped in. "Please find Charley and Harry and have them come to the control room right away. Tell them it's an emergency. And then, if you would, find Dumbledore and tell him the same thing. Tell them we need them right now."

"Yes, Remus Lupin, Sir." He popped out of the room.

"How are we going to rescue that many people in one night?" Sirius asked.

"I have no idea," Remus said. "Let's just hope that Charley does."

"What's wrong?" Charles asked, rushing into the room. Harry followed a moment later.

"Voldemort's going after the entire DA tonight," Remus said. "Harry, do you have a list of the members?"

"No, but Hermione does."

"We need Hermione's list right now," Charles said. "And Hermione and her family need to use their transport keys and go to the Safe Haven immediately."

"Do you want me to go get the list?" Harry asked.

Remus, Charles, and Sirius looked at each other. "Let's move the trunk there," Charles said. "That way, if anything happens, you'll both be safe."

He sat down at the control panel and moved the trunk to Granger's living room. "All right, Harry. You can transport out of the trunk now, but get back here immediately after you've gotten the list, and tell Hermione and her parents to use the key."

"Yes, Sir," he said, and transported out of the trunk.

Dumbledore arrived just as Harry left. "What's the emergency?"

"Voldemort's going after the entire DA tonight," Remus said. "Harry's gone to get the list of members. Can you give us the addresses?"

"Yes, but I'll need a copy of the list. Are the keys made for the Order?"

"Yes," Sirius said. "We finished them this morning."

"Good. Remus, we need to inform the Order. Will you transport to Grimmauld Place, give Molly a fire call, and have her start contacting members? Tell her to have them meet at Grimmauld Place as soon as possible."

"All right. I'll take the keys over and help Molly contact the members." He transported out of the trunk.

Harry popped back in. "Here's the list. Hermione's calling her parents at their office, and then she's transporting in."

Albus took the list from Harry, made a copy, and then gave it back. "I'll get the addresses and get right back to you," he said, then transported out.

"What about Ron and Ginny?" Harry said. "They don't have transport keys."

"Well, while we're waiting for addresses, we'll go to their house and make them some," Charles said. "What's the address?"

"It's the Burrow in Ottery St. Catchpole."

In a moment, they were in the living room of the Burrow. Ginny and Ron were playing chess by the window. Harry transported into their living room. "Hey, Ron, Ginny," he said.

They looked up at him in surprise. "Harry!"

"Look, I don't have much time. I need a hair from each of your heads."

"What?"

"Just give it, Ron. We're going to make you a transport key. Ginny, tell your Mum that you and Ron are coming to the Safe Haven with me."

"All right," she handed him a long auburn hair, then ran into the kitchen.

"I'll be right back," he said, after Ron had given him one of his.

In the control room, Charles took the two hairs and made two transport keys, then Harry transported back to the Burrow.

"Here," he said, giving each of them the appropriate medallions. "You're going to transport to a place of safety. When you get there, Malfoy and his mum and Crabbe and Goyle and their sisters and mums are there. They're hiding from Voldemort. Please just stay away from them and don't cause any trouble. Pick out a tent for your family. The ones that are already taken have flags on top. Your parents will be there soon. Oh, to get to the place, just think the word Safe Haven."

He watched as Ginny and Ron disappeared.

"Mrs. Weasley," he said, going into the kitchen.

"Just a moment please," she said, her head sticking into the fireplace. After a moment, she stood up and hugged Harry.

"Ginny and Ron are already at the Safe Haven, so you don't have to worry about them," he said. "I've got to go, now, but I'll see you later."

"All right, Harry. Take care."

"I will, Mrs. Weasley. Bye." He transported back to the control room.

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"Sirius," Charles said, handing him a copy of the DA list. "In a few minutes, I'm going to be busy for the rest of the night, so I need for you to organize this mess. When Albus gets back, make a copy of the addresses of the DA. As the Order members arrive, give each of them a name and address of one of the children. Have them go there and inform the family that they're about to be transported into a safe area. Tell them to get their family together immediately. If a family member is not at home, have them try to get a message to that person and tell them to stay away from the house tonight. When the Order member gets back, send Harry, Dobby, or Winky up to give me a list of the ones who have been informed, and I'll start transporting people up. Then send that Order member out to another family. Assign someone else to talk to the people as they arrive to find out if we missed anyone."

"All right," Sirius said, and left to go to the Safe Haven.

"God, it's going to be a long night," Charles said.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

When Sirius arrived in The Safe Haven, he conjured a strong wooden picnic table and climbed on top of it. "Sonorus," he said. "May I have everyone's attention, please?"

Hermione raised her hand.

"Hermione, I'll have to explain the whole not being dead thing later, but right now, we have an emergency."

Hermione put her hand down.

"Voldemort is sending his Death Eaters out tonight to kill every member of the Defense Association and their families. We are in the process of bringing all of those people here for their protection. When they arrive, they are going to be very confused, so I will need your help. I'm going to send all the DA members to that big tent over there with the red flag. Hermione, Ron, Ginny, Draco, Vince, and Greg, please wait in that tent, and as the DA arrive, write down their names and find out if they are missing any family members. If so, write down who the missing people are and where they might be. Then, please bring your lists to Harry so he can take it to the proper person. Are there any questions that can't wait until the emergency is over?"

Hermione put her hand down.

"Right then. Cissy, Hazel, and Margaret, while the DA members are being questioned, would you help their families pick out a tent so they'll have a place to stay for the night?"

The three ladies nodded.

"Queen Gwendolyn and Queen Angela, would you two take care of any of the younger children who transport in? They're probably going to be frightened, so I want you two to be in charge of making sure the little ones are calm, safe, and all in one area so their parents can find them easily. I'll have the parents take their children over to the play park where you two will be there waiting for them."

"Yes, Sir," they said and took off to wait at the playground for the children to arrive.

"I'm going to be right here the entire time. If you have any problems at all, come to me, and we'll take care of them."

By the time he finished his speech, Dumbledore had arrived with the list of addresses. Sirius made a copy, and then Dobby took the original list to the control room. He gave Dumbledore the list of names and addresses, and the headmaster went into the tent that had been provided for the Order of the Phoenix to wait for the Order members.

The transport keys for the Order were charmed to take them directly to the Order tent, so as the members began to arrive, Dumbledore gave each of them an address of one of the DA members. Dobby and Winky waited with Albus inside the tent. As the Order members returned, the house elves took the names to Charles so he could begin transporting people into the Safe Haven.

Sirius took out his wand and placed the words DEFENSE ASSOCIATION in bright letters across the sides of the DA tent. "That should help," he said to Harry who was sitting patiently on the picnic table waiting to run his errands.

"You know, Harry," Sirius said sitting down beside his godson. "I think you and I should switch jobs. Everyone knows you, and they trust you, and it'll calm people down if they see you standing here giving directions. People are going to be more confused because they think I'm dead, so why don't I run the lists up to Charley?"

Harry thought about it for a moment, and then agreed. He performed the sonorus charm so he would be ready. Sirius sat down to wait.

When people began to arrive, Harry stood on the table and started his announcements. "All DA members report to the DA tent in front me and have your names checked off a list before you return to your families. Parents, if you have small children, please take them over to the playground area behind me where there are sitters waiting to take care of your children. Families of DA members, please see one of the three ladies on my right who will take you to your lodgings."

As more people arrived, Harry repeated the announcement over and over until he was hoarse. He couldn't complain, though, because he knew that everyone was as busy, if not more so, than he was. He watched Sirius run back and forth from the DA tent to the control room. He looked exhausted. He knew that the Order members were transporting all over the British Isles, and he didn't even want to think about what his grandfather was going through. He just hoped that their efforts would save everyone.

By 7:00 that evening, every DA member had been accounted for. Dumbledore had sent for some of the Hogwarts house elves, and they had prepared food for all the people. The children were having a picnic in the play park. Tables had been set up around the lake, and friends and families were all eating together. Charles had even managed to find the missing family members and transport them to the Safe Haven. No one had been injured.

Harry sat down beside his exhausted grandfather and began to eat dinner. He had never been so proud of anyone in his life. His grandfather may not be the Chosen One, but he was definitely a hero in Harry's eyes. "Thanks, Granddad," he whispered.

His grandfather looked down at him in surprise. "For what, Harry?"

"For saving everyone," he said. "Most of these people would be dead if not for you."

Charles smiled. "I didn't do it alone, Harry. Every person here did their part."

"I know, Granddad, it's just that—I want you to know that I'm really proud to be your grandson."

Charles smiled at him. "That means a lot to me, Harry, and I'm proud to be your grandfather." He gave him a one armed hug. "Oh, by the way, I have something for you." He reached into his pocket and produced a chain with a gold P medallion, and then hung it around Harry's neck.

"Why do I need this?"

"When you went to retrieve the list, I realized that there would be times you would need to leave the trunk when you wouldn't be able to take it with you, so I thought I should make you one."

"But you didn't have one of my hairs."

Charles chuckled. "You're a Potter, Harry. Potters don't require a hair to make the medallion. This trunk, and everything in it, is already charmed to you. It produces anything you need."

Harry grinned. "I really love this trunk, Granddad."

Charles chuckled. "So do I, Harry."

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Fifty Death Eaters stood in the throne room of Riddle Manor awaiting their instructions. Voldemort sat on his throne, waiting for the clock to strike midnight. He was practically chuckling with glee at the thought of Dumbledore's expression when he found out that 25 of his precious students were dead.

Twelve bells echoed through the room, and when the chimes had ended, Voldemort stood in front of his throne. "My loyal servants," he said. "I have here a list of 25 names. They are students at Hogwarts who, last year, formed what is known as Dumbledore's Army. I want you to go in groups of two, and each group take one name. Go to the address of the student, and do not leave a single creature alive. Destroy the house and everything in it. I want this night to go down in history as the worst massacre the Wizarding world has ever seen. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, my lord," said fifty voices in unison.

"If it weren't for the fact that they'd destroy the houses," Charles said, watching the scene. "I would be tempted to let them all report back to Voldemort that they had failed."

"Will you be able to capture them all?" Dumbledore asked.

"I'm certainly going to try," he said, moving the trunk outside the door of Riddle Manor. "I just have to get them before they leave the disapparition wards." He moved the trunk higher to have a better view of those leaving the house.

"How many have come out of the house, Harry?" he asked.

"Forty-eight. No, fifty. Here come the other two."

Charles pushed a button and a wave of red light stunned 50 Death Eaters. "Let's clear them out before Bella sees them," he said, pressing another button and watching the Death Eaters disappear.

"Did you duplicate the dungeon?" Sirius asked.

"Yes, and we now have enough cells for 80 prisoners. That leaves 6 empty cells."

"Save a room for Bellatrix," Harry said. "I can't wait to see her behind bars."

"From the way things are going at the manor, she'll probably thank us for taking her away from Voldemort," Remus said.

They all laughed, agreeing with Remus's assessment of Bella's situation.

"I spoke with Robert Parsons from the DMLE yesterday," Dumbledore said. "He wanted to know if we would take the rest of the inner circle. He's afraid that Voldemort is going to break into Azkaban to rescue them."

"Oh, after tonight I'm sure he will," Charles said, grinning. "At least, he'll try." He shut off the monitor and stood up. "Well, let's get down there and incarcerate some prisoners, gentlemen."

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Voldemort waited until 5:00 am for his Death Eaters to return and report their activities. When none returned, he called for Bella.

"Yes, my Lord?"

"Find Fenrir Greyback. I want to see him as soon as possible."

"Yes, Master," she said, and left the room.

Remus Lupin, who had taken the early morning shift, called for Dobby. The little elf popped in the room wearing a red and white striped nightshirt and matching hat. "Dobby, I'm sorry to wake you, but would please wake Charles and ask him to come in right away? We have an urgent situation."

"Yes, Master Remus," he said, and popped out.

A few minutes later, Charles came into the control dressed in jeans and a tee shirt, his hair messier than the usual Potter mess, and his feet were bare. "What is it, Remus?"

"I think we have a problem," Remus said. "Voldemort has sent for Fenrir Greyback."

Charles sat down, frowning. "Why does that name sound familiar?"

"Fenrir Greyback is a feral werewolf who leads a pack of other ferals. He's also a wizard. He's the one who bit me when I was a child. His modus operandi is biting children while they're very young, and then taking them to rear as feral werewolves. His goal is to turn as many as he can. He's probably the second most dangerous creature in the Wizarding world."

Charles sighed. "I'm not sure we could safely detain him here," he said. "And even if we could, I'm not sure I want to." He shook his head. "I believe we have an ethical dilemma."

"How so?"

"It would be very easy to kill him when he leaves Voldemort. However, to sit in this trunk and cast the Avada Kedavra curse is cold-blooded murder. As badly as I think this Greyback fellow needs to be eliminated, I don't think I can do it, Remus."

Remus nodded thoughtfully. "What are our options?"

"We let him go; we detain him; or we kill him," Charles said. "Those are our options."

"Letting him go is as unethical as killing him," Remus said. "Greyback is a brutal murderer."

"Then our only option is to detain him, at least until we can figure out something else. Since werewolves have a high tolerance to magic, I suppose we could put him in some sort of stasis and line the walls of his cell with silver. He couldn't leave the cell, though. We would have to eliminate the charm that would transport him into the exercise area."

"Maybe Albus can talk with Parsons at the DMLE and come up with a better solution."

"I hope so because this is only a temporary solution," he said. "In the mean time, I need to recharm the cell. When is he supposed to arrive?"

"Voldemort said 'as soon as possible.'"

Charley sighed. "Then I'd better get started."


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

Remus, Sirius, and Dobby waited in front of the cell they used for scanning while Charles and Harry sat in the control room listening to the conversation between Voldemort and Greyback.

"I want you and your pack to accompany Bella to Azkaban," Voldemort said. "When they get the signal from Bella, the dementors will turn on the guards and you'll be able to free all the prisoners. Give everyone the opportunity to join me. If they refuse, kill them."

"When do you want this done?" Greyback asked.

"Tonight."

Greyback nodded. "I'll have my pack here at 11:00."

"Don't fail me, Greyback. I'm beginning to grow impatient with incompetence."

"I won't fail, my lord."

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"Harry," Charles said. "When I transport Greyback to the dungeon, I want you to take over the controls. I have to go down and help Remus and Sirius."

Harry nodded. "Okay."

Charles worked at the control panel for a moment, waiting for Greyback to leave the manor. When he stepped outside the door, Charley pressed a button, and the werewolf was bound, shoulder to ankles, in heavy chains. He immediately pressed another, and a red beam hit the werewolf in the chest. Rather than stunning him, however, it just made him angry.

"Damn!" Charles said, as Greyback began to howl. "Silencio!" he muttered, turning a knob, and then slamming his palm down on the button again.

The werewolf quieted, but not before Bella had rushed out to see what the noise was. When she saw the chained man, she drew her wand.

Charles quickly pressed another button, and Greyback disappeared from the monitor. Bella turned and ran into the manor.

"Follow her back into the room and keep a watch on them," Charles said, getting up and going to the door. Harry slid into his seat in front of the panel. "I'll be back soon," Charles said.

"Be careful, Granddad."

Charles smiled. "Oh, don't worry. I will." He left the room.

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When Greyback appeared in the cell, he was immediately stripped and scanned. Dobby took his clothes and wand to the storage room while Sirius and Remus pointed their wands at the bound werewolf.

Greyback took a moment to take in his surrounding, and then he looked at the two men. "They said you were dead," he said to Sirius.

"That was just a ruse so I could tour with my band as Stubby Boardman," he said.

Remus snickered, and Greyback turned his gaze on him. "Ahh, my little Remus," he said, almost affectionately. "You've grown up."

Remus didn't answer.

"I can remember when you were just a child; so sweet, so innocent, so frightened of the big, bad wolf."

"Shut up," Sirius said, sending a stunner into the cell. It had no affect, and Greyback ignored it.

"I wanted you to be mine," the prisoner continued. "I wanted to raise you as my son; teach you the ways of the pack; have you grow into something more than –"

"I said, shut-up!" Sirius said, sending another stunning curse.

"It's all right, Sirius," Remus said. "His words have no effect on me."

"Do you remember that night, Remus?" his voice was gentle. "The night I found you in the woods outside your house?

"Vaguely," Remus answered. "You seemed so much bigger then. Of course, I was just a child."

"Yes, a child," Greyback said, smiling. "A lovely pink-cheeked child with golden hair. Ah, you were a beauty."

Sirius grinned at Remus. "Should I leave you two alone?"

Remus grinned back. "No, I'm not his type anymore. I grew up."

Charles entered the room and, like Remus and Sirius, pointed his wand at the prisoner. "Are we ready to transport him to his cell?"

"He's all yours," Remus said.

Suddenly, Greyback vanished from the scanning cell. They followed him to his new one.

"We'll remove the chains now," Charles said, and suddenly they were gone.

Greyback looked down at himself. "Intriguing," he said. "Do you do that with your mind?"

"Something like that. Why don't you get dressed now? There's a robe on the bed."

Greyback turned his head to glance at the bed behind him, then turned back to the men, looking at them through the small openings of the mesh screen. "I think I'll stay like this," he said. "It feels more natural."

"Suit yourself," Charles said. "And have a pleasant day." He and the others turned to go when they heard a yelp coming from inside the cell.

"What have you done?" asked Greyback angrily, holding his injured hand against his body protectively.

"Oh, sorry," Charles said. "I forgot to mention that the screen and walls are plated with silver, so you probably don't want to touch them."

Greyback went over to the bed and tried to pick up the mattress. When it didn't budge, he grabbed the few things in the cell that weren't permanently attached and threw them at the mesh screen: the pillow, robes, blanket, sheets, toothbrush, soap, and finally the toilet paper. "Let me out of here!" the werewolf shouted.

Ignoring him, the three men turned and walked away.

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"So, Harry," Charles said. "Now that you're relaxed, close your eyes again. This time, I want you to create some sort of barrier in your mind—something impenetrable; something that no one can get through. Make it so real that you would recognize it as yours if you saw it in reality."

They were in the Room of Requirement again, sitting in the gazebo overlooking the ocean. Charles sat in front of Harry, watching him.

"Have you created the barrier?"

Harry nodded.

"Now, place a powerful guardian in front of that barrier. It can be anything that will protect someone from getting to the barrier."

After a few moments, Charles asked, "Have you got it?" At Harry's nod, he said, "Then I'm going to go into your mind just to see. I'm not going to try to break through or anything, I just want to see what is guarding your mind. All right?"

Harry opened his eyes and nodded again. "Legilimens," Charles said, and gently entered Harry's mind.

He found himself standing in a long, narrow passage. The walls, floor, and ceiling were stone. There were no doors, windows, or stairs. Walls surrounded him on three sides. His only choice was to go forward, down the dark hallway.

After a few moments, he suddenly found his way blocked. In front of him was a wall of solid white marble that reached from wall to wall and floor to ceiling. In the center, a large portrait of Lily had been carved. In her arms, she held a baby protectively. Her marble eyes gazed down lovingly at the child in her arms. On both sides of the oval portrait, two beautiful lilies had been etched into the marble. In front of the wall stood three animals: a large stag, a massive black dog, and a gray wolf. One man stood among the animals guarding the wall: Charles Potter, dressed in battle gear, brandishing the sword of Godric Griffindor. Carved in the wall above the portrait, in bold letters, were the words: **And he shall have power that the Dark Lord knows not.**

"Granddad Charley!"

Suddenly he was pulled out of Harry's mind, where he found Dobby shaking his shoulder.

"Granddad Charley, you must come to the prison! The bad werewolf is breaking the bars!"

Charles stood up quickly. "Harry, go to the control room. I'm going to need your help. Dobby, get Sirius and Remus to Greyback's cell as quickly as possible."

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In his cell, Greyback had torn the sheets into strips and wrapped them around his hands and feet. He had placed the pillow against the mesh. Lying on the floor, using the stone bed for leverage, he was pressing his feet against the pillow. The mesh had bent outward, pulling it away from the floor, creating a space almost large enough to crawl through.

"Chains!" Charles shouted, as he ran toward the cell. Remus and Sirius were running behind him.

Suddenly, Greyback was once again encased in heavy chains, but this did not stop him from pushing against the mesh.

"Levitate him to the bed!" Charles shouted again, and Greyback floated off the floor and onto the bed, where he immediately rolled off and began pushing himself back toward the mesh.

"Damn it! We've got to chain him to the wall," he said to the others. "I'll be back. Do whatever you have to do to keep him in that cell."

Charles ran to the control room and Harry moved so he could slide into the seat in front of the panel. In less than a minute, he had Greyback back on the bed, his wrists and ankles chained to the walls. His body stretched tightly, arms over his head and legs unable to bend. "We've got to get him out of here before the full moon," Charles told Harry. "These cells should be strong enough to hold a werewolf, but that man is different. He's physically stronger and more powerfully resistant to magic than other werewolves, and he's insane. I need to contact Albus."

"It's only five days until the full moon," Harry said.

"I know, Harry. We've got to do something quickly."

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"I want that monster out of here, Albus!" Charles shouted. "Parsons is head of the DMLE! Why won't he take him?"

"Because he's afraid Voldemort will break him out of Azkaban, Charles. The dementors aren't trustworthy. There's no where to keep him that's secure enough."

"Well, he can't stay here! There are too many people here trusting us to keep them safe, Albus."

"Do you not think the cells will hold him?"

"He almost escaped this morning."

"What if you replaced the mesh with stone?"

Charles sighed and shook his head. "I don't like the idea that he's in such close proximity to Harry. Look what he did to Remus when he was just a child. If anything like that happened to Harry—"

Albus patted his arm. "We'll see if we can find a solution, Charles. In the mean time—"

"Before the full moon, Albus," he said, glaring into the man's eyes. "If he's not out of here before the full moon, I'm going to put him down."

"You can't do that, Charles. That's murder."

Charles stood up and walked out of the room. Albus sighed and transported back to Hogwarts.

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Charles entered the control room where Harry sat monitoring the screen.

"Harry, pull up a map of the Atlantic Ocean," he said. "We have less than 5 days to find a deserted island that's a thousand miles from any ship routes or other land masses. This is going to take a while, but it's our top priority right now."

Harry looked at his grandfather in surprise. "A thousand?"

Charles grinned at him. "Well, somewhere in that vicinity."

"What are you going to do?" he asked, pulling up the map.

"We're going to put Greyback somewhere he can't escape from and will never be found."

"Are you going to put the fidelius charm on the island?"

"Absolutely. Harry, I'll take over here. Sirius, Remus, and Moody are waiting for you in the Safe Haven to practice war games with the DA.

"All right, Granddad," he said, getting up quickly. "I'll see you later."


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

That afternoon, Remus found a small tree-covered island that was approximately 10 miles in diameter. It was 772 miles from the nearest known shipping route and over 800 miles from the nearest land mass.

"Let's move the trunk there and check it out," Charles said. "Make sure there are animals for food. I don't care if the son-of-a-bitch starves to death, but let's not go out of our way to commit cold-blooded murder."

Sirius snickered and the others looked at him questioningly.

"You know," Sirius said. "Canine? Bitch? His mother?" When he got no response, he rolled his eyes. "Never mind."

Harry grinned at him. "I thought it was funny," he said reassuringly.

Sirius gave him a one-armed hug. "That's because you and I are the only ones around here with a sense of humor."

After a full scan of the island, it was found that the forest was inhabited with small creatures, mostly rodents, and birds—nothing large, but enough for Greyback to hunt and eat, if he wasn't too particular. There were also a few fruit trees scattered about, which meant the island got rain regularly. That would provide the werewolf with water if he were smart enough to preserve it. The island was quite a bit higher in elevation toward the middle, and Charles suspected that there might be a cave or two. But if not, there were plenty of trees for him to make a shelter.

Dobby packed enough food and water for a week, and after the fidelius charm had been placed on the island, he transported the basket of food into Greyback's cell. From the control room, Charles unchained the werewolf, and when he lifted the basket to see what was inside, Charley transported him from his cell to the island.

"You didn't tell him he was leaving," Harry said.

Charles shook his head. "No, I thought I'd give him a nice surprise."

Harry laughed. "Good-bye, Greyback," he said. "And good riddance."

"May you never set eyes upon another living soul," Charles added.

"Amen," Remus whispered.

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That night, after celebrating Greyback's departure, Albus joined the family in their search for one of the last three missing horcruxes. Tonight, they would journey into the cave.

Because Albus had seen the spot before in a pensieve memory, he directed Charles to the correct area. The monitor scanned down the side of a steep cliff, and then over the water where it entered a narrow opening in the face of the cliff. The tunnel was long and narrow, and anyone entering the fissure would have had to swim in the icy water in the dark. Charles pressed a button on the panel and lit up the tunnel. Before long, they reached the entrance to a cave. Inside, it was large, but there were no other tunnels or openings. They could go no further.

"Is this it?" Harry asked.

"No, this is only the antechamber," Albus said. "The opening is hidden."

Charles scanned the area for wards, and finally found what he was looking for. "It's behind this wall," he said. "He's got a blood ward set up on it."

Of course, with the trunk, they didn't need to open the wall, so they passed through the wards and into another tunnel.

The lumos button was pressed again, and in a moment, they reached a large lake. In the middle was a glowing green mist. "I'm not finding a soul piece," Charles said, scanning over the water to a small island in the center. There they saw a pedestal on which a basin had been set. Inside the basin was a glowing, green liquid.

"I recognize that potion," Charles said. "It's an hallucinogen. It makes you relive your worst memories."

"Why would Voldemort put an hallucinogen in the middle of a lake?" Harry asked.

"It must be protecting the horcrux which is probably at the bottom of the basin."

"Can we accio it out?"

Charles shook his head. "There are two charms on the potion. One is a shield charm to prevent anyone from reaching in and touching it. The second one prevents anyone from emptying the basin except by drinking its contents. If you try to pour it into anything else, it will go back into the basin."

"Is it poisonous?" Remus asked.

"No, but it makes you extremely thirsty. You will feel as if you're going to die if you don't get some water. And, of course, the island is charmed to prevent the Aguamenti charm, so the only water available is the lake surrounding the island. And that Inferi-filled swill is not only poisonous, but touching the water will awaken its inhabitants."

"Then how do we get the horcrux out?" Sirius asked.

"There are approximately six liters of potion in the basin that we're going to have to drink. That's between 11 and 12 normal-sized water goblets. If there's a horcrux in there, that's the only way to get it out. There is no other solution."

Everyone was quiet for a moment, thinking about having to drink the potion that Voldemort had placed inside the basin.

"Are you sure the horcrux is in there?" Harry asked.

Charles shook his head. "I'm not getting a reading on a soul piece, but the shield charm on the potion is a strong one. I suppose it's possible that it could be preventing me from reading it."

"What if you drink it and it's not there?" Harry asked.

"Well, that's a possibility, so we have to decide whether or not we think it's worth it. Albus, what do you think?"

"I'm willing to risk it. If there is a horcrux in there, it has to be destroyed."

"Sirius?"

"I agree with Albus. We have to at least check."

"Remus?"

"I think the risk is worth it, but do you know for certain the potion is not poisoned?"

Charles turned back to the monitor. "Notice the luminous quality of the potion. A clear liquid might not affect the emerald color, but it would alter the luminance, even if it were only a bit too much water used during the brewing of the potion. This potion is pure, and if there is a horcrux in it, it can only be something made of solid gold. Pure gold is the only substance that would not alter the luminosity."

"Then, I agree," Remus said.

"Two of us cannot drink the potion. We need one person at the control panel who is unaffected and a second person on the island who is also affected. That would leave 3 of us to drink 4 goblets each. Any volunteers?"

"I will," everyone said. Charles laughed. "I should have asked if there was anyone who didn't want to volunteer. Right, then. Remus, we don't know how the potion will affect you with your condition, so you will be the one on the island who doesn't drink the potion. You'll have to take the horcrux and make sure that the rest of us get back safely inside the trunk. You may have to force-feed us the potion after the first couple of glasses. We'll have Dobby and Winky standing by in the medical facility to give us water and the antidote after we've been transported back to the trunk."

Remus nodded.

"Harry, I want you in the control room. After each person drinks his 4 goblets, transport him directly to the medical facility. We won't be able to destroy the horcrux tonight, so when Remus takes it out of the basin and transports back up, stay at the panel and monitor the medical facility in case something goes wrong. It's possible you may have to take us to Hogwart's hospital wing. Just in case, I'll leave you a copy of the potion ingredients to give to Poppy. I'll also give you the ingredients for the antidote so she'll know what we took."

Harry nodded.

"That means that Albus, Sirius, and I will have to drink the potion. Does anyone have any questions?"

They all shook their heads.

"Right, then. Albus, if you'll prepare Poppy, I'll get the antidote ready. Remus, make sure Winky and Dobby know what to do, then we'll meet back here in an hour."

The three men left to run their errands leaving Harry and Sirius alone in the control room.

"Sirius, be careful," Harry said. "I don't like the idea of you and the others drinking that potion. I know Granddad says it's not poisonous, but we're not even sure there's a horcrux in there."

"Harry, I've known Uncle Charley since I was 11 years old. If he thought there was a possibility that this potion would harm us, he wouldn't let us drink it. Your grandfather is a genius, Harry. He's the kind of person who can look at a problem and see the solution immediately. He doesn't take chances. If he doesn't know something, he learns it. I trust him enough to drink that potion if he tells me that it's safe."

"I believe you, it's just that—Sirius, I just got you back. I can't lose you again."

Sirius wrapped his arms around Harry. "I know, pup. I know. You're not going to lose me. I promise you that I will be very, very cautious."

Harry hugged his godfather tightly. "You're the only dad I've ever known, Sirius. I couldn't stand it if something happened to you."

Sirius closed his eyes. He had thought of Harry as his son since last Christmas, and to hear Harry return his sentiments made him happier than he ever thought possible. "Nothing's going to happen to me, Harry. I couldn't bear to leave you, either. I'm going to be safe and so are Charley, Remus, and Albus. You just make sure you get us back up in this trunk. All right?"

Harry nodded. "All right."

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The plan progressed without a hitch. It took half an hour after taking the antidote for the three men to recover from the potion. They sat in the library where Remus had placed the horcrux on a table.

"That's not Slytherin's locket," Albus said, shaking his head sadly.

"Are you sure?" Charles asked.

"Yes. This is a plain gold locket. Slytherin's had an S engraved on the front. This is not the locket."

Charles took out his wand and scanned the locket. "You're right. This is no horcrux, but there is something in there." He picked up the locket, opened it, and took out a small slip of paper. Frowning, he read it aloud:

_To the Dark Lord_

_I know I will be dead long before you read this,_

_But I want you to know that it was I who discovered your secret._

_I have stolen the real horcrux and intend to destroy it as soon as I can._

_I face death in the hope that when you meet your match,_

_You will be mortal once more._

_R.A.B_

"Let me see that," Sirius said, taking the paper from Charles and examining it. "This is my brother's handwriting," he said in amazement. "Regulus took the real horcrux."

Remus smiled. "That means your brother turned away from the Dark Lord before he died, Sirius."

Sirius nodded, looking at the note in wonder.

"So, does that mean the horcrux is destroyed already?" Harry asked.

"We have no way of knowing without finding the locket," Charles said. "Sirius, do you have any idea where your brother might have hidden something like this?"

Sirius looked thoughtful. "He lived at home with our parents until his death. He could have hidden it in the house, I suppose, or maybe in his Gringott's vault. I gave everything in the vault to Andromeda. We should check with her."

"We should also look in Grimmauld Place," Remus suggested. "It may be hidden somewhere in his old room."

"But we cleaned everything out of Grimmauld Place last summer," Harry said. "Remember? We stuck everything in bags and hauled them out to the garden shed."

Sirius looked as if he had suddenly had an epiphany. "Yes! And we found a gold locket with an S on the front. Remember, Harry? We tried everything we could to open it, but it wouldn't budge. There was dark magic on the locket, so we put it with the stuff to take out to the shed!"

Everyone ran to the control room and in less than a minute, they had moved the trunk to Grimmauld Place.


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

One o'clock in the morning found five exhausted people sitting on the floor of the garden shed at Grimmauld Place surrounded by what would be called, if one were being kind, junk.

"What did you save all this stuff for?" Remus asked, eyeing a ceramic clock with no hands.

"Hey, this was not my idea," Sirius said defensively. "Molly went on a cleaning frenzy and had us haul all this junk out here. She planned to go through it to see if there were any dark objects that should be turned in to the ministry before we threw it away or sold it."

"That was a year ago," Remus said. "When were you planning on going through it?"

"It's not like I don't have an excuse, Remus. I have been dead, you know."

"You were only dead for a week, Sirius. You can't continue to use that as an excuse. People are getting a little tired of hearing, 'Oh, sorry I didn't get around to that. I've been dead, you know.'"

"Found it," Harry said.

"It's not every day that somebody comes back from the dead, Remus."

"Hey, I think I found—"

"You're just using it to get attention, Sirius. If—"

"HEY!" Harry shouted. "If you two will stop arguing for a minute!"

That got everyone's attention. "What is it, Harry?" Charles asked.

Harry raised his hand. He was holding a gold chain with a locket dangling from the center. "I think I found it."

Dumbledore leaned toward Harry, took the locket from his hand, and examined it. "This is it," he said. "This is Slytherin's locket."

Charles took out his wand and scanned it. "It's a horcrux," he said. "Let's take it in the house."

Inside, they took the horcrux into the attic, and then transported back to the trunk. "It's better not to be in the room when we destroy a horcrux," Charles said, seating himself at the control panel. "The soul piece will have a few seconds in which it can possess another person. We don't want to give it that chance."

After the soul piece was driven from the locket, Charles levitated it into Sirius's old bedroom and placed it in the drawer of his bedside table. "There you go, Sirius. You are now the proud owner of Slytherin's locket."

"Thanks, Uncle Charley. If I should ever date a former Slytherin, I'll know what to give her for Christmas."

"Only two more to go," Albus said standing. "Gentlemen, it was a good night, but I must leave you now. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Good night, Albus," they said as he left the trunk

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Remus had just changed into his pajamas and settled in bed for the night when he heard a faint knock at his bedroom door. "Come in," he said.

The door opened and Harry came into the room, closing the door behind him. He walked over to the bed and sat down on the edge. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Of course," Remus said. "You can talk to me any time you want to."

Harry smiled. "I just want to say . . . well, I don't want things to change."

Remus frowned, confused. "What things, Harry?"

"You know, your being my guardian. I know Sirius is back and I have a grandfather now, but I don't want you to back away from me, Remus. I don't want you to leave me. I want things to stay as they are."

"Why do you think I would leave you?"

"Because . . ." Harry looked uncomfortable. "Sometimes, it seems as if you think that Sirius deserves to be here more than you." He shook his head. "That's not exactly what I'm trying to say." He paused. "When Sirius is around, you back away as if you think you're interfering. Remus, I love Sirius, but I love you, too. I think a kid needs two parents, don't you?" He looked at Remus hopefully.

Remus smiled and pulled Harry to him. "I love you, too, Harry. And yes, I do think a child needs two parents, and I want to be that for you. You're right, though. I do back away sometimes. It's more difficult for me to show affection than it is for Sirius. I will try to change that, though."

Harry nodded and sat back where he could look into Remus's eyes. "So you won't leave me? You'll stay and be my guardian?"

Remus shook his head. "I won't leave you, Harry. That's a promise."

Harry hugged him, and then stood up. "All right, then. I'll see you in the morning. Goodnight, Remus."

"Good night, Harry." He watched Harry walk out of the room and close the door behind him.

"We have a fine boy there, Moony," James said from the portrait hanging on the wall near the foot of his bed.

"Yes, we do, Prongs," Remus said smiling. "We certainly do."

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Charles sat in his bedroom reading a piece of parchment. He had read the same words over and over, and no matter how he looked at them, they meant the same thing.

_Either must die at the hands of the other for neither can live while the other survives._

He took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. No matter how he looked at it, it meant the same thing. He was going to have to prepare his grandson to kill Voldemort.

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After spending the morning with Harry in the Room of Requirement, Charles went to the Safe Haven to see if there were any problems. Leaving the Marauder's tent, he found Moody lurking outside. "Hello, Alaster. Were you wanting to see me?"

"Now that you mention it, I would like to talk with you."

"Come in, then. I'll make us some tea."

"No need," Moody said, taking out his flask. "I brought my own."

Charles grinned at him. "Then I'll make some for me."

They entered the tent, and Moody sat down on the chair that faced the opening of the tent. Charles came back from the kitchen a moment later with a cup of tea. "So, what can I do for you, Alaster?"

"I wanted to tell you how much I like your trunk. I have one myself, but it's not this elaborate."

Charles looked surprised. "How did you know?"

Moody pointed to his false eye. "This let's me see through charms," he said. "I think I'm the only one who knows, but Snape is a bit suspicious. He's trying to find out how you got here."

"Is he?"

"Yes. So, how did you get here?"

Charles laughed. "I'm afraid that's something I can't tell you, Alaster."

Moody nodded. "One of those Department of Mystery secrets, is it?"

"Something like that."

"I can't understand why you boys always kept what you learned in there such a secret. Aren't you doing it for the Wizarding world?"

"Well, yes, but . . . Alaster, I've discovered things that no human being should have access to."

"So, what are you doing with the information?"

"I've hidden it. It's best left undiscovered."

"You're not planning on using any of it?"

"Not personally, no, but there are some things I'm going to share with Harry so that he can defeat Voldemort. Then, I'm locking them away. If a dark wizard found out about them, the world would be a very dark place, my friend."

"So, are you going to give me a tour of this trunk of yours?"

Charles grinned. "I suppose I should, since you already know all about it." He stood up. "Follow me, Alaster."

Outside the Marauder's tent, Snape turned and walked back to his own. He had not been able to hear anything inside the tent. Potter must have put up a privacy spell.

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Moody was extremely impressed with the control room, especially after finding out that they were in Voldemort's throne room. He cackled. "You mean to tell me that you've got the whole Order and Dumbledore's Army hidden inside a trunk that's sitting in the middle of Voldemort's living room?"

"Oh, you haven't seen anything yet," Charles said. "Come with me to the dungeon."

Moody walked down 4 aisles of cells, looking inside at the 74 Death Eaters that were housed there. "Does Voldemort have any Death Eaters left?" he asked.

"A few, but we're working on it. We only have a couple of more things to take care of before we capture the rest of them and finish him off."

Moody turned and looked at him. "Potter's almost ready to finish off Voldemort?"

"Almost. There are still a few preparations we need to make, but he's almost there."

"Well, I'll be damned," Moody said, laughing. "I hope it all works out like you've planned."

"So do I, Alaster. So do I."

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After spending the morning meditating and practicing occlumency, Harry practiced with the DA until lunch. Afterwards, he went back to his room, had a shower, then went back to the Safe Haven. Looking around, he saw Ginny on one of the swings at the playground, watching some of the children play.

He walked over and sat down in the swing next to hers. "Are you minding the children?" he asked.

"Oh, no. I'm just watching them play."

"You want to go on the carousel?"

"Sure," she said. "They walked over to the lake and got in one of the paddleboats. Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle were on the lake, racing.

"Hey, Potter!" Draco called. "Got a girlfriend?"

"Why do you want to know, Malfoy?" Harry called back. "Are you jealous?"

Draco smirked. "No. You can have her."

"Oh, you mean Ginny?" Harry asked. "I thought you were after me."

Ginny laughed, and to her surprise, so did Malfoy. "You wish!" he called back, and then continued his race with Crabbe and Goyle.

"What's that all about?" she asked. "Malfoy didn't try to hex you."

"I think we've reached a sort of truce. He doesn't try to kill me, and I don't try to kill him. It's working pretty well so far."

"That's good, I suppose," Ginny said warily.

"It's like this, Ginny. I'm trying to learn not to make enemies. Malfoy and I may never be friends because our beliefs are so different, but we don't have to hate each other."

When the boat reached the island, they got out and jumped on the moving platform. Ginny picked out a unicorn to ride, and Harry got on the griffin next to her.

"I love this," she said. "This is the best summer I've had in a long time."

"It has been for me, too. Remus is my guardian, my godfather's here, and I have my grandfather. I don't want this summer to end."

"I think that's the first time you've ever said that," she said, smiling at him. "Usually you can't wait for it to be over."

"Usually, I'm with the Dursleys."

"Will you ever have to go back there?"

He shook his head. "Not anymore. I have a real family now."

"I'm glad. If anyone deserves to be happy, you do."

Harry felt his face turn hot. "Everybody deserves to be happy," he said.

After spending much of the afternoon on the carousel, they decided to walk down to the beach. When they reached the ocean, Harry took her hand. Ginny didn't seem surprised. She acted as though that was something that happened every day.

"Hey, Ginny."

"Yes?"

"Are . . . are you still going out with Dean?"

Ginny giggled. "I never was going out with Dean, Harry. I just said that to make Ron mad."

Harry laughed. "It worked," he said. "So, are you going out with anybody?"

"No," she said. "Are you?"

"No."

They walked a little way in silence. "Ginny, do you think you might want to go out with me?"

She nodded. "Yes. I think I'd like that."

He grinned. "Good," he said, and they continued their walk in a comfortable silence.


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

"Charles, what color was your mother's hair?" Sirius asked at dinner that night.

Charles looked thoughtful. "It was auburn," he said.

"And what color was Aunt Anna's hair?"

"You know perfectly well what color her hair was. It was red."

"So both you and your father married red-heads, then."

Charles nodded.

"And, let's see, I believe James married a red-head, too, didn't he."

"What is your point, Sirius?"

"I don't have a point. I was just making conversation."

Charles shook his head and went back to his dinner.

"So, Harry," Remus asked. "Was that Ginny I saw you with on the carousel today?"

Harry looked as if he were trying to remember. "It might have been. I think she was on the carousel at some point today."

Sirius tried to hide a grin. "Do you think that might have been Ginny you were holding hands with at the beach?" he asked.

Harry blushed and looked down at his plate. "It might have been."

Sirius turned to his best friend. "I'm not sure I can recall, Remus. What color hair does Ginny have?"

Remus looked thoughtful. "You know, Sirius, I believe she's a redhead."

"All the Weasleys have red hair," Harry said. "You knew that."

"So, are you two . . ."

Harry sighed. "Yes, we're going out."

Remus and Sirius grinned at each other.

"But I don't want to be teased about it," Harry said. "And I don't want you to tease Ginny. You might mess things up."

"Oh, I doubt that," Remus said. "But we won't tease you, will we Padfoot?"

"Of course not! I'd never tease my godson about his girlfriend."

Harry narrowed his eyes at them suspiciously before going back to his dinner.

After a moment of silence, Charles said, "Harry, after dinner, we need to have a talk."

Harry looked up at him in horror. "You're not going to give me the talk, are you?"

Charles frowned, confused. "What talk?"

"You know, The Little Wizard's Talk. Sirius already gave me that talk at Christmas, and if you don't mind, I'd really rather not go through anything like that ever again."

Remus and Sirius tried to cover their laughter.

"That wasn't the talk I had in mind, Harry," Charles said. "But I am relieved to know that you've already had it."

"And if you have any questions," Remus said, "You know that you can always come to one of us, don't you?"

Harry sighed. "If I have any questions, I'll go to Hermione. She'll find me the books I need, and I can read them in the privacy of my bedroom."

After dinner, Harry followed his grandfather into the secret room behind the bookcase in the library. He greeted all the portraits while Charles went over to the bookcase and selected a few of the journals. When he had what he needed, he went over to the sofa, and he and Harry sat down.

"Harry, you are a very powerful wizard, and your power will continue to grow as you get older. In my lifetime, I have only known three wizards with your capabilities: Albus, Voldemort, and you. But the problem is, you are still learning to use yours. You won't be a fully trained wizard for two more years, while Voldemort has not only been trained, but has had years of practice. He also knows dark spells that you would never use. So, when you vanquish him, it will not be in a normal dueling situation where the two of you stand face to face and throw curses at each other."

Harry frowned. "Then, how . . . "

"I'm going to show you, but what I'm about to reveal to you can never be known to anyone outside this room. This is powerful magic, Harry. Not even the light side can be trusted with it. If what is in these books were to ever fall into the hands of a dark wizard, Voldemort would seem like nothing in comparison."

Harry's eyebrows rose in surprise, and for the first time since learning of the prophecy, he began to have real hope of surviving.

"The first thing I want to teach you is a shield charm that is totally impenetrable, even by the unforgiveables. It's not like most shield charms. This one is to be worn like body armor. It covers you from head to toe, but it's invisible, so it won't impede your vision. We place the spell on you, and it lasts until we take it off. Nothing can get through this spell or remove it from your body. Only the person who placed the spell on you can remove it. And since that will be you, you don't have anything to worry about."

Harry breathed a sigh of relief and waited for his grandfather to continue.

"The second thing I'm going to teach you is how to place yourself and Voldemort inside another shield. This is important for a number of reasons. Firstly, it will prevent Voldemort from escaping. Secondly, it will prevent anyone from hearing the incantation you use. And finally, it will contain the affects of the spell you use to vanquish Voldemort."

"And the final spell is a curse that will remove his soul permanently, leaving him dead. It's not the killing curse, but it works on the same principle. However, the soul will not be able to linger in our world at all. It will be immediately banished to the afterlife. He will not even be able to come back as a ghost."

"So his soul won't be dead?"

"No, it won't be destroyed, but it will go where it's supposed to, Harry."

"And he can't come back? Ever?"

"Not ever, Harry. The dead can't return to the land of the living."

"But Sirius . . ."

"Sirius never died in the timeline in which you rescued him. You did not bring him back from the dead. You went back to a time before he died and prevented his death."

Harry nodded.

"Right, then. You're going to learn one spell at a time, and we'll begin with the first one—the body shield charm. Are you ready?"

"Yes, Sir," Harry said, and Charles began to teach.

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"We have three choices," Charles said to the other men who had assembled in the library. Sirius, Remus, Harry, and Albus had gathered to hunt for the second to last horcrux. "We have Hogwarts, Borgin and Burkes, and Godric's Hollow. Which of these three do you think would most likely be hiding a horcrux?"

"Hogwarts," Harry said immediately. "If the pattern holds true, it will be Hogwarts. That's where he lived and learned to use magic."

"I agree," Remus said. "I think it will be Hogwarts."

The others agreed that Hogwarts was probably the most likely place.

"It'll be difficult because of its size, but I have to agree," Charles said. "So, we'd better get started. We may be looking for quite some time."

They began their search in the Slytherin dormitories. When that did not reveal anything, they moved to the Chamber of Secrets. Hidden behind the large sculpture of the head of Slytherin, they found the remains of an old library, but there was no horcrux. They decided to go from floor to floor, beginning with the dungeons, then up to the next floor and so forth.

It was a quarter to three in the morning when they entered the trophy room. "It's here," Charles said, studying the monitor. "Somewhere in that trophy case."

Everyone looked, but there was nothing that even resembled Hufflepuff's cup.

"Could he have transfigured it?" Remus asked.

Charles shook his head. "I don't know. Maybe."

They watched on the monitor as the glass door of the case opened slowly. Charles scanned the objects on the shelf. "There," he said, zooming in on a view of a plaque. "This is the horcrux."

It was an award for services to the school presented to Tom Riddle. Sirius snorted, "We should have known."

"How many people are at the school, Albus?" Charles asked.

"Minerva, Professor Trelawney, Mr. Filch, Mrs. Norris, and 78 house elves," he said.

"Where can we take this that is far away from all the inhabitants?"

"My office would be the best. No one should be in there."

Charles levitated the plaque from the trophy room to Albus's office, and then placed it on the floor. He flipped the switch behind the panel and exorcised the soul piece. When the work was done, he levitated the plaque back to the trophy room and replaced in the case.

"Well, gentlemen, only one more horcrux to go, and we don't have to look for that one. We know exactly where it is."

"I wonder what he did with Hufflepuff's cup," Harry said.

"My guess is that he hoped to start a collection of objects that had belonged to the founders. It's probably locked away in a vault somewhere."

"Or Lucius Malfoy may have it," Albus said. "After all, when Voldemort was vanquished the first time, Lucius somehow ended up with the diary."

"We may never know, but at least we know it's not a horcrux." Charles said.

"Are we sure he only made 6?" Remus asked.

Albus and Charles exchanged looks. "That is the information that we both received," Albus said.

"I hope it was right," Sirius said.

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Voldemort was not a stupid man. He knew that he was being spied on. He knew that somehow Albus Dumbledore was responsible for the disappearance of most of his Death Eaters and for obstructing his attempts to destroy the mud-blood and Dumbledore's Army. He had searched the manor himself for the source of Dumbledore's information. There was nothing. He had scanned the entire building for magical listening devices. Again, nothing. He had checked the old wards and added new ones. He had tightened security. He had strengthened the anti-portkey and disapparition charms. The privacy charms in his throne room were the strongest they had ever been. He revealed his plans only to Bella in that room, and he had questioned Bella under veritaserum and torture. He had added movement detectors in the throne room. Nothing. How was he doing it? What kind of magic had he found that would over-ride his best attempts at secrecy?

"Bella!" he shouted.

She ran into the room immediately, kneeling and kissing the hem of his robe. "Yes, my Lord."

"We're going to destroy the manor."

She looked up at him in surprise. "Where will we go, my Lord?"

"You will know when we get there," he said, stroking Nagini gently between her eyes. "Come with me."

He led Bella outside the manor, followed by Nagini, and with a wave of his wand, the house exploded. When the dust had cleared, nothing had been left standing. Nodding in satisfaction, he led Bella away from the anti-disapparition wards. Taking her arm with one hand, while Nagini wrapped her body around the other arm, he disapparated, taking nothing with him from the house except for Bella, Nagini, and his wand—and, unknowingly, the Potter trunk, which was hidden inside his pocket.


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23

Charles waited until after lunch before gathering the Hogwart's student together. "All right, everyone. We're going to send you to Diagon Alley today so that you can get your supplies for school."

All the children shouted and applauded. They were enjoying their time at the Safe Haven, but they were also looking forward to a trip to Diagon Alley.

"We're going to send you in groups of six with one chaperone. There will be aurors watching the crowds, but if anything happens, immediately transport back to the Safe Haven. You all know how to use your transport keys. Correct?"

The students nodded. "All right," he said, glancing down at a bit of parchment in his hand. "I've made a list and assigned each one of you to a group and a chaperone. Remus Lupin, you will be in charge of the 'Troublesome Sextet.'"

Remus grinned, but all the students looked around, wondering to whom he was referring.

"That would be," Charles continued, "Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, Ginny Weasley, Luna Lovegood, and Neville Longbottom."

"Hey!" Harry said, looking around at his companions who also seemed a bit put out by the moniker. "We're not troublesome!"

"Yes, well, tell that to the people who had to clean up the Department of Mysteries," Charles said. "Now, the second group will be led by Molly Weasley. This group includes . . ." He continued down the list until all the students had been assigned to a chaperone.

"Now, everyone have fun today, but be back by 6:00. That will give you 5 hours," he said. "Get your shopping done, stay in your groups, obey your chaperones, and, as my friend Alaster Moody would say, 'CONSTANT VIGILANCE!'"

"CONSTANT VIGILANCE!" every one repeated, laughing, then group-by-group, they transported to Diagon Alley.

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After a trip to Gringott's bank, Remus's group assembled in front of Madam Malkin's shop. "All right, we'll get our shopping done first, and then we'll have fun the rest of the day. Now, who needs new robes?"

Everyone in the group raised a hand, so 7 people went into the clothing store, 6 to be measured. When they all had new robes, Remus shrunk the bags so they could put them in their pockets, and then they went to the bookstore, the apothecary, the stationary shop, and the owl emporium for treats for their pets. After an hour and a half, the shopping was completed.

"Let's go to Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes," Ron said, grabbing Hermione's hand and dragging her toward the shop. Harry took Ginny's hand and followed. To his dismay, Luna grabbed Neville's hand. Shaking his head and chuckling, Remus followed.

The shop was crowded, not only with DA members, but with other students who had chosen today to do their shopping. Harry made his way through the crowd to the counter, gently pulling Ginny behind him. "Hey, George!"

George grinned at him. "Fred's in the back, Harry. Go back there, and I'll meet you in a minute."

Harry led Ginny to the back room. The others soon followed. "What are you doing?" he asked Fred who was sitting at a table over a diagram.

"We're working on something for the Order," he said. "Or we were before the shop got so crowded."

"What is it?" Harry asked, peering over his shoulder.

"Sorry, top secret," Fred said, folding the parchment.

"Hey, Harry," George said, coming into the room. "Fred and I thought we'd take some fireworks to the Safe Haven tonight and shoot them over the ocean. What do you think?"

"I think that'd be great, but would you check with my grandfather before you do it to make sure they won't interfere with the magic he has around the Safe Haven? If so, I'm sure he could change something to allow the fireworks."

"Okay, we'll check with him first. We have some new things I think the little ones will like."

"Hey, Ron! Put that back! Don't touch it!" Fred called.

Ron was holding something that looked like a child's spinning top. He gently set it back down on the table. "I wasn't going to do anything," he said defensively.

"Yeah, well, if you had, I'm not sure we'd ever be able to find you," George said.

"What is it?" asked Harry.

"It's one of the things we're making for the Order," Fred said. "That little top will create a whirlwind so strong, there's no telling where you'll end up when it finally lets you go."

Ron backed away from the table. "Why do you have stuff like that set out where anyone can touch it?"

"Ronnie, Ronnie, Ronnie," George said, shaking his head. "This is our private laboratory. It's not set out where just anyone can touch it."

"But we would have put it away if we had known you were going to visit," George said.

"Since you lot are busy," Harry said, interrupting the argument before it could get started. "We'll be off, then. See you tonight."

The day went without a hitch. The group of 7 spent the rest of the day walking down the narrow streets that made up Diagon Alley. They browsed shops and had ice cream at Fortesques, where Harry held Ginny's hand under the table while they ate. He had to use his left hand to eat his ice cream, but he didn't mind.

"This has been a good day," he said to Ginny. "I'm glad we didn't have to worry about Death Eaters or anything."

Ginny smiled. "I've had a good time, too, Harry."

"Um, Ginny? If Granddad says it's okay for the fireworks, would you, you know, want to watch them with me?"

She nodded. "Yeah, I'd like that."

He felt himself blush and turned his attention back to his ice cream. He didn't know why it made him blush when Ginny looked at him like that. He had known her since he was 11 and had never been shy around her before. He wondered if this was how she felt when she had the crush on him when she was younger. He hoped he would get over it soon because it had been really annoying when she was doing it to him back then.

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Voldemort, Nagini, and Bella had apparated from place to place for much of the day. It was obvious to Sirius that he was trying to confuse anyone who might be following them. His final destination was the abandoned muggle orphanage where he had been born. He and Bella got to work immediately, raising wards and putting up charms and curses. At last, he added the fidelius charm and made Bellatrix his secret keeper.

"Go find the remaining Death Eaters," he told her. "Show them the address and tell them to expect my call this evening."

"Yes, Master," Bella said, and left.

To Sirius's amusement, he watched from the control room as Voldemort began doing housework. He selected a large room with a fireplace, expelled the dust and dirt, repaired the walls, ceiling, and chimney, and conjured a new throne and some sconces for the walls. When the throne room was complete, he conjured a large rug in front of the fireplace where Nagini immediately slithered over to settle down. Then he chose another room to be his bedroom. After cleaning and repairing, he conjured a bed and some sconces and lay down to await Bella's return.

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When the twins showed up with the fireworks, Charles told them that it would disrupt the magic of the Safe Haven, but he would transport them to a beach where they would be able to enjoy the display. And so the inhabitants of the Safe Haven, except for Snape, were transported to Potter Island. Dobby was left to watch the monitor with the instructions to get Charles when the Death Eaters began to arrive. So everyone, including Albus Dumbledore, went to the beach that evening for a picnic dinner and entertainment provided by Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes.

Before dark, most of the students played in the cool waters of the ocean while the adults walked the beach or sat watching the children. Small children built sand castles and sculpted sand merpeople. Charles, Remus, Albus, Shacklebolt, and Moody watched the children in the ocean, wands out, ready to rescue anyone who might fall prey to sharks or the undertow. Sirius and Tonks were in the ocean, playing with the students.

As it began to get dark, the swimmers came out of the ocean. The adults conjured towels and blankets and performed drying and warming spells. Harry sat on a blanket beside Ginny, surrounded by his friends and family. He couldn't remember ever being so happy. For the first time in his life, he had a family. He had his friends, and he had Ginny.

After dinner, the fireworks began. Harry and Ginny lay side by side on the blanket, holding hands, watching the colorful display over the ocean. His heart was so filled with joy, he was hardly able to contain it. His eyes watered, but he blinked the tears back before anyone could see them. And when he turned to face Ginny, she was watching him. She smiled, and he moved his face closer and kissed her.

It was the warmest, sweetest, most exciting kiss he had ever experienced. Of course, he hadn't had that much experience, but compared to the kisses he had shared with Cho Chang, this one out-ranked it a thousand times. He pulled back and saw his joy mirrored in her chocolate brown eyes. He smiled, leaned in, and kissed her again. He could have stayed that way forever had it not been for Ron's foot making brisk contact with his shoulder.

"Hey, watch it!" Ron, who was sitting behind him with Hermione, whispered furiously. "That's my sister you're snogging."

"Sorry," Harry said to Ron while grinning at Ginny, and she giggled. "Not really," he told her softly.

"Neither am I," she whispered back, and they turned their attention back to the fireworks.

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As the hour grew late, Charles became concerned that Dobby had not yet called him. He transported to the control room. "No Death Eaters have arrived, then?" he asked.

"No, Granddad Charley. Theys not come yet."

"And he hasn't used the mark to call any of them?"

"No. He just be sitting in his big chair staring at the fire."

"Has Bella returned?"

"She be back a long time. She be cleaning the kitchen and trying to make biscuits. The Dark Lord isn't being very happy with Bella's cooking," he said, grinning.

Charles chuckled. "I guess he misses old Wormtail," he said, sitting next to Dobby at the controls. He glanced at his watch. It was almost 11:00. Perhaps he was waiting until closer to midnight. "Dobby, would you mind going to tell Albus to make sure everyone is back at the Safe Haven before midnight?" he asked.

"Sure, Granddad Charley. Dobby don't mind." He popped out of the trunk.

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At 11:30 pm, Voldemort called Bella into the throne room. "Hold out your arm," he said. He placed the end of his wand on her dark mark to summon his Death Eaters. Within moments, 30 dark-cloaked, white-masked figures stood in Voldemort's throne room.

Charles groaned. "We're going to need more cells," he said to Remus who had just entered the control room. "Is everyone back from the beach?"

"They're transporting up, now. Albus and Sirius will be here in a moment."

"Where's Harry?"

Remus grinned. "He may be up a little later. He and Ginny seemed to hit it off this evening."

Charles smiled. "Good. She seems like a nice girl."

"She's exceptional. Reminds me a lot of Lily."

Sirius and Albus entered together. "Everyone's safely back in the Safe Haven," Albus said. "What do we have here?"

"Voldemort's moved to the orphanage, and he's just called 30 more Death Eaters," Charles said.

Voldemort stood in front of his throne. "My loyal servants," he said. "You are all that's left of my Death Eaters. The others have been captured. However, tonight we will bring them back."

Charles began to duplicate the dungeon in preparation.

"Tonight, we will take Azkaban. Bella has prepared a ship to take us to the island. The dementors have joined our cause. When we are within sight of the prison, I will signal the dementors. At that time, they will turn on the guards, leaving the prison vulnerable. Bella will fly to the island, enter the warden's office, and dismantle the anti-apparition wards. You will then apparate to the island and free the prisoners. Give those who are not Death Eaters the opportunity to join us. If they refuse, leave them for the dementors and apparate back to the ship. From there, you will receive further instructions.

"The ship is _The Lonely Mariner_. It is docked at Shadow Rock in Thurso, Scotland. Be there by midnight. That is all. You may go."

As the Death Eaters left the room, Charles moved the trunk outside to stun and capture them, and Remus, Albus, and Sirius went to the dungeon to scan them and place them in their cells. Charles moved the trunk back into the room where Voldemort sat staring into the fire.


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24

Harry entered the control room ten minutes before midnight and sat down beside Sirius. "Have a good time?" Sirius asked.

Harry grinned and nodded.

"Can any of you perform a corporeal patronus?" Charles asked.

Everyone in the room said that they could, and Charles turned to look at his grandson. "You can perform a corporeal patronus?" he asked, surprised.

"Yes, Sir."

"Since he was 13," Remus added proudly. Sirius smiled and patted his godson on the back.

Charles looked impressed. "When we get to Azkaban, be ready, then. We're going to have the patroni drive the dementors into the open and surround them. I'm going to make our Room of Requirement into a temporary holding cell for the dementors, and then we'll take them to a place where they can be destroyed."

"What about Voldemort?" Albus asked.

"I imagine that when Voldemort discovers his Death Eaters are not going to show, he and Bella will go on to the island to try to rescue the prisoners themselves. He thinks that all the Death Eaters who have been captured are there. But we'll have a little surprise planned for him when he gets there."

They waited until Voldemort and Bella left the orphanage, leaving Nagini alone. Charles flipped the secret switch on the back of the control panel, and they all watched as the last horcrux was destroyed. They left her where she was, on the rug in front of the fire, for Voldemort to find when he returned.

When that was done, Charles moved the trunk to Azkaban. "Albus, will you go to the Safe Haven and ask everyone who can to cast a patronus? Have them do it together, and cast yours at the same time, and we'll do the same up here."

Albus left the room, and Charles switched the monitor to show the Safe Haven. "Let's get ready, gentlemen," he said. They waited until Albus had gathered everyone together and explained the situation. As the people in the Safe Haven cast their patroni, those in the Control Room did the same.

Charles used the control panel to amplify the patroni, making them bigger and more powerful, and then transported them to the island. On the monitor, they watched as the silvery diaphanous creatures made their way through the dark halls of Azkaban, rounding up dementors and driving them out of the prison into the open.

A hundred dementors floated in the air above Azkaban surrounded by 20 of the largest patroni any of them had ever seen. Harry saw his stag along side his godfather's grim, his guardian's wolf, and his grandfather's lion. When all the dementors were together, Charles transported them, along with the patroni, into the Room of Requirement.

The trunk levitated slightly above Azkaban, waiting for Voldemort's signal, which would be their cue to watch for Bella's arrival. "Dobby!" Charles called, and the little elf popped into the room.

"Yes, Granddad Charley?"

"We're about to transport Bella to the scanning cell. Would you go down and keep an eye on her until we have time to place her in a permanent cell? She'll be stunned when she gets there, but if she starts to wake up, do whatever you need to do to keep her unconscious."

Dobby gave him a wide grin. "Dobby be happy to, Granddad Charley!" He popped out of the room.

It was a good 20 minutes before they saw the signal from Voldemort and another half hour before Bella landed with her broomstick on the dock. Charles immediately stunned her and sent her to the holding cell. He then moved the trunk to the boat so he could keep an eye on Voldemort.

Voldemort sat on a crate, wrapped in his cloak, watching the skies over Azkaban. His face was expressionless, but there was a look of defeat in his eyes. It was as if he knew that his plan was about to fail. He cast a warming charm on himself and continued to wait.

"Do you think she was supposed to signal him?" Remus asked.

"Perhaps. Maybe we should send out a signal and see what happens," Charles said.

"Or maybe we should let him just sit there and wait, not knowing what's happening on the island," Sirius said.

"Oh, yeah! Waiting is the worst!" Harry said, laughing.

Charles grinned. "So, we're going to perform a little torture, are we, gentlemen?"

The others chuckled.

"While we're waiting, Sirius would you take Winky down to the prison and get Bella scanned and locked away? It shouldn't take long, since she's only one person."

"Is she still unconscious?" Sirius asked, getting up. "Because if she's not, she could be worse than Greyback."

"She should be. If not, you have your wand."

"Have a good time," Remus said, grinning.

Sirius rolled his eyes. "I'd rather see McGonagall naked than my cousin Bellatrix."

Albus entered the room as Sirius left. "What was that about Professor McGonagall?" he asked concerned.

Harry and Remus burst into laugher. Charles grinned at Dumbledore. "Sirius was just saying that, between Minerva and Bellatrix, he preferred Minerva."

"I see," Albus said, his eyes twinkling. "I'll be sure to inform Minerva of Sirius's feelings."

This brought more laughter from the other two. Harry would have fallen out of his chair had Remus not grabbed him in time.

After another hour or so of waiting, Voldemort apparated off the boat. Charles moved the trunk back to the orphanage.

When the Dark Lord discovered that his snake was dead, he flew into a rage. "Damn you, Dumbledore!" he screamed. "You'll regret this! You'll regret the day you were born!"

"Harry," Charles said. "Stand over there against that wall. I'm going to send your image to Voldemort. I want you to have a little conversation with him."

Harry stood against the wall that Charles had indicated, and his grandfather pointed what looked like a muggle video camera at him. Suddenly, a holographic image of Harry appeared in the room with Voldemort.

"You!" the Dark Lord said, pointing his wand and sending a curse at him. The curse went through the image.

Voldemort's eyes widened in surprise. "Are you dead?" he asked. "Are you a ghost?"

Harry smiled. "No. This is just a hologram."

The Dark Lord's eyes narrowed in confusion. "A what?"

"I'm not really here. I'm just sending my image to you."

"You can project your spirit from your body?" Voldemort asked, impressed.

Harry shrugged. "Of course. Can't you?"

Voldemort frowned. "What are you doing here? What do you want? Are you part of Dumbledore's little plan?"

"Dumbledore doesn't have anything to do with this," Harry said. "This is all my doing. This is between you and me."

"You've done all this?" he asked unbelievingly. "How?"

"I've discovered the power that the Dark Lord knows not."

"What?"

"Oh, that's right. You didn't hear the rest of the prophecy, did you? You missed the part about me vanquishing you with the power that the Dark Lord knows not."

Voldemort stood frozen on the spot. "That is what the prophecy says? I don't believe you."

Harry smiled. "It doesn't matter. You'll find out soon enough." He moved closer to Voldemort, and the Dark Lord backed away. "You want to know the really strange part of the prophecy?"

"W-what's that?"

"If you had not come to Godric's Hollow that night and killed my family and tried to kill me, I would never have been able to vanquish you. You gave me the power to it, Tom. You created your own executioner."

Voldemort shook his head. "You cannot kill me, Harry. I am immortal now."

Harry frowned. "What? Did you finally steal a philosopher's stone? Are you drinking the Elixir of Eternal Life?"

Voldemort seemed to relax. "Perhaps, Harry, perhaps. Now, why don't you go back to your body and leave me alone. I have plans to make on how to destroy you and your little friends."

Harry smiled. "All right, Tom. Perhaps we'll talk again soon."

"I'll be looking forward to it, Mr. Potter."

When the holographic image disappeared, Voldemort rushed up the stairs to the room that had been his as a child. He checked the wards on the wardrobe, and finding them intact, relaxed. He went back downstairs to his bedroom and went to bed.

In the control room, Charles began to move the trunk. "Now, to get rid of our unwanted guests," he said. On the monitor, they saw that they had arrived at the Department of Mysteries. They were, once again, in the Death Chamber.

"We're going to send the dementors through the veil?" Harry asked.

"Yes, we are." Charles transported 10 dementors into the Death Chamber. They were enclosed in a bubble-type shield, but at one end a tiny portion of the shield protruded outward, much like a bottleneck, yet it was too small for any of the dementors to enter.

The shield levitated to the veil. The dementors began to scream as it passed through the curtains. When only the small protrusion remained outside, Charles pressed a button, and the shield disappeared.

"That was the finite charm," he said. "To terminate the shield spell—just in case."

The action was repeated 9 more times, and by the time the sun rose on a new day, all the dementors had been eliminated.

Harry and Sirius went to bed; Albus returned to Hogwarts; and Remus took over the control panel, moving the trunk back to the orphanage to keep an eye on Voldemort. Charles went into the Safe Haven.

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Severus Snape sat outside his tent sipping his morning tea and watching the sunrise. It was peaceful here, despite the fact that brats of all ages were running around at all hours of the day and night. He could easily slip inside his tent, put up a silencing charm, and work on his potions or read. Sometimes, late at night, he walked the beach after everyone else had gone to bed. Some days, he talked with Draco and Narcissa, sometimes sharing meals with them. It was a pleasant life, though he would never admit it to Albus or Potter.

Movement caught his eye, and he watched as Charles Potter walked over to the Malfoy tent. Narcissa came to the opening, and then she and Potter walked away from the tent, talking for a moment. He saw the woman nod at him, and then they both transported out of the Safe Haven.

This was odd. He had not seen them together before, but he could have missed it. Was Charles Potter making a play for Lucius's wife? Oh, that would be priceless. He wondered what the Potter brat would think if he knew of his grandfather's feelings toward Draco's mother. He smiled at the thought.

He poured another cup of tea and waited. He would stay there until they returned. Surely they wouldn't be gone too long. Otherwise, Draco would get suspicious. In less than half an hour, they had returned. He watched as Potter bowed to Narcissa and she smiled in return. She went back inside her tent, and Potter left the Safe Haven. Oh, this was going to be amusing.

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"How did it go?" Remus asked when Charles entered the control room. "Did she have it?"

Charles sat down next to him. "Oh, yes. Lucius had taken it after Voldemort's first defeat."

"So, what did you find?"

"Hufflepuff's cup is not a horcrux," he said. "We were right. He only wanted it because it had belonged to one of the founders."

Remus nodded, relieved. "Good. That makes me feel so much better."

"You and me both, Remus," Charles said, patting him on the shoulder. "You and me both."


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25

Harry stumbled into the lounge still wearing his pajamas, his hair was sticking up in all directions. He sat down on the couch between Sirius and Remus. "What's for breakfast?" he asked, yawning.

"You've missed breakfast," Sirius said, grinning at his godson's appearance.

"Then what's for lunch?"

"You missed that, too."

Harry frowned. "I'm hungry."

"I'm sure Winky will make you something if you ask her," Remus said.

"I'm too tired," Harry said. He laid his head in his godfather's lap and placed his feet in Remus's.

Sirius ran his fingers through the messy black hair and Remus massaged his feet. "That feels good," he said, yawning.

"Which part?" Remus asked.

"All of it," he said, closing his eyes and going back to sleep.

"Are you two Marauders spoiling my son?" asked a feminine voice.

They looked up at the portrait where Lily, James, and Baby Harry were watching them. James was holding the younger Harry.

"We certainly are," Sirius said.

"Good," Lily said, laughing. "He deserves to be spoiled."

"Dat Hawwy?" Baby Harry asked, pointing to the older version of himself.

"Yes, that's Harry," Lily said, gently pinching his nose. "All grown up."

"Unca Daddy! Unca Mooey!" he said, clapping.

"That's not Daddy," James said, correcting him. "It's Paddy. P-P-P-Paddy with a P."

Sirius grinned mischievously. "He can call me Daddy if he wants to."

"No, he can't," said James. "You're Uncle Paddy. I'm Daddy."

"But he's never called you Daddy," Remus said. "He calls you Da."

"Still, it's the same thing. I'm his Daddy. Padfoot's his godfather. There's a difference, you see, and he needs to learn that."

The others just laughed. It had been a sore point for James since Harry was a year old and had first called Sirius Daddy.

Lily was gazing down at her son affectionately. "So, that's my little hero, is it?"

"You know," said James. "It's hard to think of him as a hero when you've spent 15 months changing his nappies."

"I heard that!" Harry said. "And I'd appreciate it if we could stay off the subject of nappy changing when referring to me."

"That's the hard part of having a family, Darling," Lily said. "Nappy changing, turning a bowl of cereal over your head, eating insects, and getting caught playing in the toilet become part of family lore."

Harry groaned. "I played in the toilet?"

"Only once," James said. "You were trying to baptize the cat, I believe."

Harry chuckled, his eyes still closed. "I suppose I missed my calling. I should have been a priest."

"Oh, then you would have been fun to be around," Sirius said sarcastically.

"I would have been a fun priest," he said. "You know, getting pissed on the communion wine and all."

"Harry!" his mother scolded.

"Sorry, Mum," he said. Suddenly his eyes flew open and he sat up. "I've never said that before," he said, looking at his mother in amazement. "I've heard Ron and the Weasley twins say it a thousand times, but this is the first time I've ever said it."

"Another first," James said proudly. "Lily, we should write that in his baby book."

Lily cuffed him on the shoulder.

"How did it feel?" Remus asked, grinning.

"It felt great," he said, and then glanced at his mother apologetically. "I mean, not because I was being scolded or anything. Just that . . . I could say it. I can talk to my mum!"

"Hey, what about me?" James asked.

"And my dad," he added, grinning at his father.

"Actually, we have some new family lore that we could share with you," Remus said.

"Oh, what is that?" James asked.

"Oh, yeah!" Sirius said. "Well, you see, we were on holiday at the French Riviera this summer, and . . ."

"NO! NO! STOP!" Harry shouted, trying to cover his godfather's mouth with his hand. "Don't tell them about that!"

"Actually, Padfoot," Remus said. "We really shouldn't tell them." Harry sighed in relief. "We should get the pensieve and let them see for themselves."

With a groan, Harry got up from the couch and started toward the kitchen. "I'm going to get something to eat," he said. "You lot continue to have a good time at my expense."

"We will!" Sirius called after him.

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After meditating and working on his occlumency with his grandfather, Harry began to practice the new spells his grandfather was teaching him.

"All right, Harry. Try the shielding spell, and this time I'll send some curses your way."

Harry stood in the middle of the gazebo in the Room of Requirement. He concentrated for a moment, and then tapped his head with his wand saying, "_Contego Infragilis Valde!"_ He felt the top of his head begin to tingle, and then the sensation traveled down his body to his feet.

"Do you feel it?" his grandfather asked.

Harry nodded. "Does the feeling go away?"

"Not as long as the shield is up. Does it bother you?"

"No, I just wondered. It's good to be able to feel it. It makes me feel more confident knowing it hasn't gone away."

"I'll start with harmless spells, then we'll increase it a little at a time."

"All right. I'm ready."

_"Rictusempra!"_

Harry felt no effect from the tickling curse, so his grandfather continued.

_"Wingardium Leviosa!"_

Harry's feet stayed firmly on the ground.

_"Expelliarmus!"_

He looked down at his wand, which was still in his hand.

_"Petrificus Totalus!"_

Harry moved his arms up and down freely.

_"Finite Incantatem!"_

Harry still felt the tingling sensation over his body.

_"Accio Harry!"_

Harry remained where he was.

_"Lumos Maxima!"_

The bright light did not blind him. He could still see his grandfather and their surroundings.

_"Stupefy!"_

Harry grinned and waved at his grandfather.

His grandfather backed away from Harry. "This one's going to be a little more serious." He raised his wand again and cast _"Diffindo!"_ then looked at Harry questioningly.

"I didn't feel a thing," he said.

"All right, one more. Give me a minute to concentrate." Charles closed his eyes and his expression slowly changed to a look of pain. After a moment, it became one of intense anger. He opened his eyes and cast _"Crucio!"_

Harry looked at his grandfather in surprise, and Charles ended the spell and dropped his wand, wiping perspiration from his forehead. "That was hard," he said. "You felt nothing?"

Harry shook his head. "Nothing." He walked over to his grandfather. "What were you thinking?"

"I was imagining you were Voldemort, and I was thinking about the night he killed Jamey and Lily and tried to kill you. As angry as I was, I couldn't hold that curse, though."

Harry wrapped his arms around his grandfather and held him tightly. "I'm sorry, Granddad."

"It's all right, Harry," Charles said, hugging him. "We have each other."

Charles released him. "End the shield spell, and we'll practice on the Contineo spell. I'm really impressed, Harry. You did a great job on that shield. Just keep practicing."

"I will, Granddad."

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"Remus, I know the full moon is in 2 days," Charles said at dinner that night. "Why don't you rest tomorrow instead of taking a turn in the control room. I'm sure the rest of us can fill in for you."

"I'll be all right tomorrow, Charley. I'll just be sitting at the panel, unless something happens."

"If you're sure, but if you change your mind, let us know."

Remus smiled. "I'll be out of commission the day after the full moon, but I'll be fine tomorrow and part of the next day. The wolfsbane potion has been a big help to guard against injuries during transformation."

"You're still tired though, Remus," Sirius said.

"I know, but I don't have to spend the time in bed. I'll be fine at the control panel until the day after the full moon." He turned to Charley. "If I weren't, I would let you know. I wouldn't want to be more of a hindrance than a help."

"Whatever you feel comfortable with, Remus," Charles said. "If it becomes too difficult, just let us know. Albus, Harry, and Moody can take over for a while if you need them to."

Remus nodded. "Thank you. I'll let you know if it becomes too much."

"So, Harry," Charles said, turning to his grandson. "Tell me how you managed a corporeal patronus at the age of 13."

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After dinner that night, Harry entered the control room where his grandfather was watching the monitor. "Granddad, can I talk to you?" he asked, sitting down next to him.

"Sure, Harry. What's on your mind?"

"I've been thinking about the spell I'm supposed to use to kill Voldemort. I-I don't know if I'll be able to do it. I mean, not being able to practice it, I'm afraid I won't do it right."

Charles turned to give his grandson his full attention. "The thing about that spell, Harry, is that it doesn't require a specific wand movement or any particular skill to cast the spell. The only thing it requires is intent. You have to want him to die. Is that it? You're having problems thinking about killing someone?"

"Well, not exactly. Maybe. I don't know."

Charles smiled sympathetically. "Let me ask you a question. What would happen if Voldemort were to continue on as he is?"

Harry shrugged. "He would probably recruit more Death Eaters and kill more people."

"Do you think it would be safe to lock Voldemort in Azkaban?"

Harry shook his head. "They couldn't keep him in Azkaban."

"Do you think there is any way he could be sent through the veil?"

Again, Harry shook his head. "I don't think anyone could capture him," he said.

"Then what is the solution?"

"He's going to have to die."

"Harry, for you to aim your wand at Voldemort and want him to die, you're going to have to think about all the things that would happen if he were to continue to live. Think of the innocent people who would be tortured and killed. Think of your family and your friends. Think of the people who would be alive today if it hadn't been for Voldemort. When you speak that curse, you don't have to feel hatred or revenge. You only have to think about the necessity of what you're doing. Why you're doing it. And what would happen if you didn't."

"So it's okay if I feel regret?"

"Of course. I would worry about you if you didn't feel regret over having to kill someone. As long as you also realize that you are doing what must be done."

Harry nodded thoughtfully, then smiled at his grandfather. "All right, Granddad. I think I'll be okay with it now."

"I know you will, Harry. I have faith in you."


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter 26

Since his failure at Azkaban, Lord Voldemort had not risen from his bed except to occasionally sit on his throne in front of the fireplace. Since Bella had been captured and Nagini killed, he had no one to talk to. His Death Eaters had all been captured. There were still a few who remained loyal to his cause, but they were not Death Eaters—they were not fighters. Most of them were employees of the Ministry of Magic who occasionally slipped information to him through his servants, like that Edgecomb woman who had given him the list of names of those who were members of Dumbledore's Army. But, somehow, even she had been found out and was serving a life sentence in Azkaban for treason.

How had he done it? He knew that Potter was not working alone. He was sure that Dumbledore was involved, but what sort of magic were they using that he could not detect? How was Potter able to project his spirit from his body? He had only heard of one wizard who had that power, and that was the Great Merlin himself. Was Potter really that powerful? He was only a boy. Yes, the power was there, but the boy had not learned how to use it. He had not yet entered his 6th year at Hogwarts. Perhaps the old man had been training him all along. That didn't seem possible, though. The boy was practically inept at the Ministry, and yet he had escaped.

Harry Potter always escaped, though through nothing more than sheer luck, it seemed. He would be a powerful wizard some day, if he lived, but he could not allow the boy to do that. Potter had to die, and it had to be soon. The longer he waited, the more the boy would gain in knowledge, skill, and power.

What were the boy's weaknesses? Ah, yes. His friends. Potter would sacrifice himself for that mud-blood and son-of-a-blood-traitor he called friends. But it wasn't just them. The boy had a hero complex. He would sacrifice himself for anyone he thought of as innocent.

He needed a plan, and he needed it now. He would have to draw the boy out. He would have to set him up somehow, but it would have to involve very little danger to himself. A secure spot, perhaps, with a hostage. It would take some planning, but it could work. And if it didn't, he would try again. It's not like he could die, even though he did not wish to go through the hell he had been through as a disembodied spirit. He would need someone to perform the ritual immediately, should it come to that.

The Parkinson girl and the Nott boy. According to Bella, they were the only two to return home of the children he had summoned that day. He would use them and their mothers. The Parkinson woman was a potions master. And he would have her give him one of her house elves to wait on him.

Voldemort rose from his chair and put on his cloak, pulling the hood over his head so that he would not be recognized. He walked outside and down to the edge of the property and disapparated.

After a few seconds, he arrived at the door of the Parkinson's. He knocked and the door was answered by a house elf. When Voldemort lowered his hood, the elf became visibly frightened.

"Take me to see your mistress."

The quivering house elf bowed and led the Dark Lord into the front parlor.

"Z-Z-Zippy go get mistress now," the elf said, and popped out of the room.

Within moments, Mrs. Parkinson entered the room, eyes wide and face pale. She was trembling with fear. "Yes, my Lord," she asked, curtsying. "How can I be of service?"

"Please sit down, Mrs. Parkinson. This is, after all, your home. I am merely here for a visit and to ask of you a favor."

The frightened woman sat on a chair as far away from the Dark Lord as possible, and still be in the same room. "What is it you would ask of me?"

"I have need of your services as a potion mistress, but only in the event of an unfortunate accident. Otherwise, your services will not be needed. However, I also have need of your daughter."

"M-my daughter?"

"Yes. I have been told that she wishes to become a Death Eater."

"B-but she's only a child. Surely you wouldn't—"

"Mrs. Parkinson, I have become quite desperate, I'm afraid. I need your daughter and her friend, the Nott boy. Would you be so kind as to summon them, please? Also, if you would, summon the boy's mother."

The woman knew better than to disobey. She immediately went to the fireplace and called Mrs. Nott, asking her to bring Theodore to the house immediately. After ending the call, she summoned Zippy to tell Pansy that she had a guest in the front parlor.

When she was once again seated, Voldemort said, "I would also ask for the use of one of your house elves, Madam. I am in need of a servant."

"Zippy," she called, and when the elf appeared, she said, "Tea for five, please, and select our best house elf as a gift to our Lord."

Zippy snapped his fingers and a service for five appeared on the table. He bowed low and once again disappeared.

"May I pour for you, my Lord?"

"Yes, please."

"Milk or sugar?"

"Neither, thank you."

She poured the tea and handed him the cup, which rattled against the saucer. He suppressed a smile at her fear.

Mrs. Nott, accompanied by her son, appeared from the fire. When she saw the Dark Lord, she curtsied. "My Lord," she said.

Theodore went over to the Dark Lord, knelt, and kissed the hem of his robe as he had been trained to do by his father.

Voldemort smiled. "You may rise and be seated," he said.

Mrs. Nott and her son sat down and Pansy entered the room. Like Theodore before her, she knelt and kissed the hem of his robe. Before she could rise, however, Voldemort found himself alone in the room.

He stood up, the cup dropping to the floor, spilling its contents across the Persian rug. "Zippy!" he shouted, furiously, but no house elf appeared. He left the parlor and went to the kitchen. The room was abandoned. The house elves had disappeared also.

With a howl of rage, Voldemort stormed out of the house and disapparated.

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The Notts and Parkinsons suddenly found themselves locked in a small, empty cell. Looking in at them were a tiny female house elf and a man they had never seen before.

"What is this?" Mrs. Parkinson asked. "How did we get here?"

"Mrs. Parkinson, my name is Charles Potter, and I brought you here. I saw that you were in quite a predicament, and I wanted to give you a choice."

Mrs. Parkinson looked at the others who were in the cell with her, then turned back to their abductor. "What choice?"

"A choice between serving Voldemort and your safety. I will provide a Safe Haven for you, or I will return you to serve Voldemort. It is your choice."

Mrs. Nott moved to the front of the cell. "Sir, I have two smaller children I left at home with the house elves. Would it be possible to bring them to the Safe Haven?"

"Yes. We'll get them imme—"

"No!" Nott said. "Mother, you can't! You can't betray the Dark Lord!"

Ignoring him, she said. "My children and I choose to go to the Safe Haven."

Nott huffed and sat down on the floor in the corner of the cell. Pansy looked up at her mother.

"Mum, please," she pleaded. "Father's in prison. We should avenge him!"

"Your father is there because of his own choices," Mrs. Parkinson told her daughter. "You are 16 years old, and I am your mother. While you are still underage, you will obey me." She turned to Charles. "We accept your offer, Sir. My daughter and I choose to go to the Safe Haven."

Charles looked at the children sulking in the corner of the cell. "If I have any trouble from you two," he said. "You will end up right back here until you learn to behave. Is that clear?"

They both nodded grudgingly.

"I didn't hear you," he said. "So I'll ask you again. Is that clear?"

"Yes, sir," they said.

He gave them each a stern look that promised retribution should they misbehave, and then transported the two families to the Safe Haven where Albus Dumbledore met them to show them to their tents. Within minutes, Charles entered the Nott tent holding the hands of two tear-streaked little boys, ages 3 and 5. "I believe we have found our lost mummy," he said to them.

They ran to their mother, who knelt down to wrap them both in her arms. She looked up at Charles. "Thank you," she said, her eyes glistening with tears.

Smiling, he gave her a polite nod and left the tent.

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Draco had just won his third paddleboat race of the day (against Crabbe and Goyle) when he saw Pansy Parkinson and Theodore Nott walking toward the lake. He steered his boat toward the shore and waited for them to arrive.

"Draco!" Pansy cried, running toward him. Nott followed slowly, hands in his pockets and a sulky look on his face.

"Pansy," he greeted. "Nott."

"Did they make you stay here, too?" she asked in a whinging tone.

"No. I'm here by choice. Did they force you to stay?"

"Our mums are here," she said. "They forced us to come with them."

"That black-haired bloke with glasses said he'd lock us up if we gave him any trouble," Nott said, still sulking.

Draco grinned. "Oh, you must mean Granddad Charley. Yeah, you'd better not cross him. He owns this place."

"It's great here!" Vincent Crabbe said, pulling his boat next to Draco's. "We play war games every day with wands that just shoot paint. We race paddleboats, have picnics at the beach, and sometimes fireworks displays. This is the best summer I've ever had."

"Have they forced you to join the light side?" Pansy asked.

"No, we're staying neutral. Nobody's forcing us to do anything. They're just protecting us," Draco said.

"From what?" Nott asked.

"The Dark Lord," Goyle said. "He threatened to kill us and our families because our fathers failed at the ministry and ended up in Azkaban."

"Yeah, so Granddad Charley moved our dads to a new prison where they're safe and we can visit them," Crabb added.

"I've seen it," Nott said. "That's where he said he'd lock us up if we didn't behave."

Draco snickered. "It's not much of a prison. They get house elf food, the same as we do here, and they get to go out in a park every day for exercise and sunshine. They get showers and books to read, and they have their own toilets right in their cells."

"Sounds like a prison to me," Nott said.

"Yeah? Well, you haven't seen what it's like in Azkaban, have you?"

Nott shook his head.

"There, they just have a filthy mattress thrown on the floor and no facilities. They live in the same cell with their own body wastes. They get one bowl of gruel a day, never take a shower, and dementors walk around 24 hours a day. I'd say Uncle Charley's jail is a big improvement, wouldn't you?"

"You think he'd move my dad here?" Pansy asked.

Draco shrugged. "If you asked him. But I wouldn't get on his bad side if I wanted him to do me a favor. Keep your noses clean and don't make any trouble. When summer's over, you'll be back at Hogwarts and you can do whatever you want."

Nott glared at him hatefully. "You're nothing but a traitor, Malfoy," he said.

Draco shook his head. "And you're just an idiot, Nott."

Nott turned and started back toward his tent when he ran into someone. He looked up, surprised to see his potion master standing in front of him.

"Mr. Nott," Snape said.

"Professor."

"Come with me."

Nott followed Snape into another tent. The professor had him sit down, and then placed a strange looking basin on the table in front of him.

"This, Mr. Nott, is a pensieve. Its function is to hold memories. I am going to extract my own memories and allow you to view them. Through them, I am going to show you the reality of being a Death Eater."


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter 27

"Holy _shit!" _Sirius cried, staring at the monitor in horror. "Dobby!" The house elf popped into the room. "Go find Charles! Tell him to get up here now! It's an emergency!"

Dobby left without a moment of hesitation. When Charles came into the room, he looked at the monitor. "Oh, my God."

"Dobby!" he called, and once again the elf was there. "Tell Harry to come to the control room right away, then go get Dumbledore. While you're at Hogwarts, ask Professors McGonagall and Flitwick and Madam Pomfrey to wait 15 minutes, and then apparate to Diagon Alley. When you've done that, go to the ministry and inform Robert Parsons, Head of the DMLE, what is happening."

The elf disappeared again.

"Sirius, will you wake Remus and then both of you go to the Safe Haven? We're going to need the Order and the DA down there to help."

Sirius slid out of his chair and left the room. Charley sat down at the control panel. "This is it," he whispered.

Harry came running into the control room. "What's wrong, Granddad?" He glanced at the monitor and his face paled. "Oh!"

"This is it, Harry," Charles said. "Are you ready for this? Do you know what to do?"

Harry took a deep breath and let it out. "Yes, sir," he said.

"Then put your shield up. Do you remember the other spells?"

"Yes, Sir," he said. He tapped his head with his wand. _"Contego Infragilis Valde!"_ He felt the tingle begin at his head and slowly move down to his feet.

"I'm going to transport you down, now. Concentrate. Remember what we talked about. And get that damn shell around him before he hurts anyone else."

"Yes, Sir," Harry said. He gave his grandfather a brief hug, and then was transported out of the trunk.

"God go with you, my grandson," Charles whispered.

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Diagon Alley was in chaos. Crying children, screaming Witches and shouting Wizards ran in all directions, trying to get out of the fray. Curses were being fired rapidly from the center of town. People were lying on the street and in front of buildings, injured or dead.

Suddenly, Harry Potter appeared and began running toward the disturbance. As those in the crowd recognized him, they felt a sense of calm and began to pull themselves together. Here was their savior, the Chosen One, come to rescue them. Here was their hero.

The atmosphere that had been filled with panic moments before began to change. People began to find their courage. Braver souls went out into the street to aid the wounded. People helped mothers to calm their children. Merchants unlocked their doors, offering shelter and the use of their fireplaces for flooing out of the Alley. People formed orderly lines, allowing those mothers with children to go first.

Harry Potter walked alone down the main street of Diagon Alley toward the most feared Wizard the world had ever known. Voldemort smiled, for this is what he had been waiting for.

"Ah, Harry. There you are. Welcome to my little party."

Harry drew his wand, but before he could use it, Voldemort struck him with the Cruciatus curse. Ignoring the curse, Harry waved his wand over his head in an arch and cried, _"Contineo Valde!" _

Suddenly, Harry and Voldemort were trapped within a large transparent dome.

Immediately Albus Dumbledore, the Order of the Phoenix, and the Defense Association arrived. Dumbledore took down the anti-apparition wards, and the aurors and Hogwarts staff apparated in.

They got to work, helping the people who had been trapped in Diagon Alley. Stretchers were conjured, and the dead and wounded were sent to St. Mungos. Mothers and children who had not yet reached the floo were portkeyed out. All who wished to leave did so, and when the work was done, they all turned to watch what was happening inside the transparent dome.

It was at that moment that Sirius, Remus, and the rest of the new arrivals discovered that it was Harry who was trapped inside the dome with Voldemort.

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Harry and Voldemort stood at opposite ends of the dome, their wands pointing at each other.

"How long do you think this shield can hold me, Harry?" Voldemort asked in amusement.

"Until I release it," Harry said calmly.

Voldemort chuckled. "Or until you die."

Harry remained silent.

"What is this magic you've been using, Harry? Is it something that Dumbledore taught you?"

"It's a magic you could never use, Tom."

"And why is that?"

"Because it's involves a power that you don't possess. It's what saved me from the killing curse when I was a baby. It's the power that the Dark Lord knows not."

"Again you quote from the prophecy. Why don't you tell me the entire thing, Harry?"

So, Harry told him the prophecy:

_The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches._

_Born as the 7__th__ month dies;_

_Born to parents who have defied him thrice;_

_And the Dark Lord shall mark him as his equal,_

_But he shall have power that the Dark Lord knows not._

_And either must die at the hands of the other,_

_For neither can live while the other survives._

_The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the 7__th__ month dies._

Voldemort's eyes lit up. "It did not say you _would_ vanquish me, then. It only said that you _could_. And that one of us has to kill the other, but it does not predict who will be the victor."

"That's right," Harry said.

Voldemort threw back his head and roared with laughter. "So, you are not even sure that you can kill me, are you?" he asked.

Harry did not answer.

The Dark Lord shook his head. "I almost feel sorry for you, Harry, because even if you managed to win the victory today, it would be to no avail. I have made myself immortal. I will come back as I did before."

"I know all about your attempts to become immortal, Tom. I know how you split your soul into 7 pieces and made horcruxes. I had to hunt them all down and destroy them."

"You lie!" Voldemort said furiously.

Harry shook his head and ticked them off on his fingers. "The ring was at the Gaunt house; the locket was in the cave, originally, but Regulus Black had found out about it and had taken it, so that one was actually at the old Black mansion. Let's see. Oh, yes. The baby tooth was at the orphanage. Nice touch, by the way. The diary I destroy in my second year in the Chamber of Secrets. The plaque for services to the school was in the Hogwart's trophy room. And, finally, Nagini was with you the entire time, until her unfortunate demise. Is that all? Oh, no. There's one more, isn't there, Tom?"

"_Avada Kedavra!"_ Voldemort shouted. The curse hit Harry in the chest. Voldemort waited for him to fall, but Harry just smiled.

"Anyway," Harry continued as if nothing had happened. "I need to take care of the last horcrux."

"There are no more horcruxes!" Voldemort raged.

"There is still one small piece of soul left inside you," Harry said.

"_Avada Kedavra!"_ Voldemort screamed desperately, his wand shaking violently in his hand.

Harry raised his wand before the Dark Lord could cast another curse. _"Expello Animus!"_

A violet colored mist poured out of his wand and surrounded Voldemort. The Dark Lord's eyes met Harry's. They were wide with horror. His mouth was moving as if he was trying to speak, but no sound emerged. He clutched at his chest and fell to his knees, his eyes never leaving Harry's. After a moment, the life faded from his eyes and he fell forward onto his face.

Harry waited until the violet mist had disappeared, and then he ended the dome shield charm.

Sirius reached him first, and Harry fell into his arms, burying his head in his godfather's shoulder. "We've got to get him out of here," Sirius said to Remus, as he noticed all the people rushing forward to congratulate Harry. Suddenly, the three of them disappeared, transported back into the trunk.

Charles rushed out of the Control Room into the Library. "Take him into his bedroom," he said.

Sirius lifted him up and carried him into his room, followed by Charles and Remus.

By the time they reached his bedroom, Harry was sobbing hysterically. Sirius laid Harry on the bed and tried to straighten up so he could sit beside him, but Harry clung to him tightly, crying into his shoulder. "NO! Don't leave! Please! I don't want to be alone."

"I'm not going to leave you, Harry," Sirius said, picking him back up. He sat down on the side of the bed, holding Harry in his lap as if he were a small child, and rocking him back and forth. "Shhh. It's okay. I'm here. Your whole family is here," he said gently, looking up at the portrait that had recently been placed in the room. The grandparents, parents, and baby Harry were all in the portrait, watching helplessly.

"I'll go get a calming potion," Charles said, leaving the room. Remus sat down in a chair near the bed.

Outside the bedroom door, Charles ran into Dumbledore. "How is he?" the headmaster asked.

Charles shook his head. "He's not hurt physically," he said. From inside the room, even through the closed door, they could hear his grandson sobbing.

"May I see him?"

"Only family is allowed in right now, Albus," he said pointedly.

Albus nodded. "Then, may I see him as his great great grandfather?"

Charles took Albus's arm and led him into the lounge. "Do you intend to _be_ his great great grandfather, Albus? Because that's the only way you're getting in there." He sighed. "Look, I know what happened, and I know why you made the decisions you did. But it's over now, Albus. You don't have to hide anything anymore. You can acknowledge that you have a family."

"I'm ready to do that, Charles."

"Then all I ask is that, when Harry's ready, you explain to him what happened. _Everything_. I want him to know why he had a family member who left him in the abusive hands of the Dursleys when his parents died. Are you willing to do that, Albus?"

"Yes. I am."

"All right, then. You can go in as his great great grandfather, but not as his headmaster. And _definitely_ not as the leader of the Order of the Phoenix."

"I understand," Albus said, and went into Harry's bedroom. Inside he nodded to Sirius and Remus and the members of the Potter family in the portrait, then conjured a chair and sat down near Remus. He sat silently, just wanting to be there for Harry. Dobby and Winky popped into the room and silently sat down at the foot of the bed.

"He was watching me!" Harry sobbed into Sirius's shoulder. "He never took his eyes off mine! I saw the life go out of them! It was . . . it was horrible!"

Sirius held him tighter, continuing to rock. "I know it was, Harry, I know it was."

"Sirius, I killed him! I'm just a kid, and I killed a man! I saw his eyes! They were watching me while he died!" The sobs got louder.

Charles came into the room and handed Sirius the potion.

"Here, Harry," Sirius said. "Take this potion. It'll help you calm down."

Harry raised his head and allowed Sirius to pour the potion in his mouth, then laid his head back down on his godfather's shoulder. "I-If I fall asleep, p-promise you w-won't leave me a-alone."

"I promise," Sirius said. "We all promise, Harry. You won't be left alone for a minute."

Little by little, the sobs faded into spasmodic breathing, and Harry was asleep.


	28. Chapter 28

Chapter 28

While Harry slept, Charles Potter went to the Safe Haven. When he arrived, everyone was celebrating. He stood on one of the sturdy picnic tables and tapped his throat with his wand.

"_Sonorus_. May I have everyone's attention, please?"

The Safe Haven quieted.

"Today, my grandson defeated the most feared and evil Wizard our world has ever known, and I am very proud of him."

He had to wait for the cheering to die down before continuing.

"Voldemort is dead. Over one-hundred Death Eaters have been captured, and the dementors of Azkaban have been destroyed."

There was more cheering. This was the first time they had heard that the Death Eaters and the dementors were gone.

"It is now safe for you to return to your homes. However, if you wish to take tonight to celebrate among your friends here, you may do so. If you want a fireworks display, please let me know, and I'll transport you to the beach where we had them before."

"How's Harry?" Hermione shouted from the crowd.

"Harry is physically well, but the experience was traumatic for him. It is not often that a 16- year-old boy is forced to face a monster. But despite the fact that Voldemort was a monster, to have to kill someone and have that person gaze into your eyes as he dies is something that would be difficult for anyone to experience at any age, and yet that is what my grandson experienced today. It will take some time for him to come to terms with what he had to do. He will spend the next two weeks in seclusion with his family while he heals from this trauma. If all goes well, he will be on the Hogwart's Express on September first.

"As most of you know, Harry does not like publicity. When he returns to school, the best way for you all to help him adjust would be to treat him as you normally would. He's not going to want to talk about what happened for a while. Please be patient and allow him to talk about it when he's ready."

Charles ended the sonorus charm and stepped down from the table to a round of applause. People gathered around him, thanking him for allowing them to use the Safe Haven. Before he could leave, he found himself surrounded by the Weasley family, Hermione, Neville, and Luna.

"Can we see Harry?" Hermione asked.

"I'm sorry, Hermione, but he's not ready to see anyone yet. He's taken a calming draught and is sleeping."

"When can we see him?" Ron asked.

Charles thought about it for a moment and then reached a decision. "All right. Get your things together, and I'll transport you to where Harry is. However, if it gets to be too much for him, I'm going to ask that you leave the room until he's feeling better. You may stay until the day after the full moon, and then I'm taking him into seclusion until September first."

The Weasleys and company ran to their tents to gather their belongings. Charles went to the control room and transported the group into the lounge, then went to join them.

"If you'll follow me, I'll show you to your rooms," he said. "After you've settled in, I'll let two of you go in to see him at a time."

He took the group, which included Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Fred, George, Ginny, Ron, Hermione, Luna, and Neville to the bedrooms on the 6th level of the trunk. When they had put their belongings in their rooms, they followed him back up to the parlor.

Mr. and Mrs. Weasley went into the bedroom first. When they entered, Albus and Remus got up to give them their seats and left the room. Sirius stayed seated at the head of Harry's bed, running his fingers through his godson's unruly black hair. Winky and Dobby were both seated at the foot of the bed.

"Winky go prepare dinner for guests," she said softly. "Call Winky when Harry Potter needs her."

"I will, Winky," Sirius said. "Thanks."

Winky popped out of the room.

"Dobby go help Winky. Will come back later to make sure Harry Potter never alone."

"Thanks Dobby," Sirius said, and Dobby popped out of the room.

Mr. Weasley sat down in the chair that Dumbledore had vacated, and Mrs. Weasley went to the bed. She took Harry's hand and sat down, just holding it. "Poor little boy," she said, tears gathering in her eyes. "To have to go through so much at his age."

Sirius nodded in agreement, and they sat for the rest of the visit in silence, watching Harry sleep.

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Charles spent the afternoon in the control room, transporting prisoners to ministry holding cells where they would be held until tried, and if convicted, sent to Azkaban. Bellatrix, Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle went directly back to Azkaban.

When the cells were empty, Charles removed the duplicated dungeon rooms, and then went to check on his grandson.

Harry was awake, sitting up in bed talking with the entire Weasley family, Hermione, Luna, Neville, Sirius, Remus, Albus, and his family in the portraits. He was laughing at stories the Marauders were telling about their past. Dobby sat at the foot of the bed, as if guarding him against some unseen force. Winky was in her element, making his favorite foods and pampering him as if he were a sick child. When Harry saw his grandfather, he smiled and motioned for him to come closer. Charles went over to the bed and sat down beside him.

"How are you feeling, Harry?"

"Better," he said. "Granddad, thanks for everything you did. I don't know if I could have defeated him if you hadn't been here."

Charles gave Harry a one-armed hug. "Don't mention it, Harry," he said. "That's what granddads are for. So, are you ready for another holiday?"

"Where are we going?"

"I thought we might spend the rest of the summer on Potter Island, just the family. What do you think?"

Harry grinned. "I would love it!"

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The next day, Remus stayed in his room resting in preparation for his transformation, which would occur that night. Sirius had offered to stay with Harry, but his godson had insisted that he accompany Remus to the Room of Requirement so he would not be alone on the night of the full moon. Therefore, Sirius was also resting.

Harry sat in his room, surrounded by his friends. They laughed and talked about everything except what had happened the day before. The twins kept them in stitches, talking about the pranks they had pulled, and even James was laughing from his portrait.

At lunch, everyone gathered in the large dining room and ate together. The atmosphere was more like a meal at the Weasley house than what those in the trunk were used to, but it was highly entertaining.

After lunch, Dumbledore approached Harry and asked if he could talk with him alone. Harry and his great-great-grandfather went into Harry's bedroom. Albus sat on the chair he had conjured the day before, and Harry sat cross-legged on the foot of his bed.

"Harry, not long ago, you asked me if you could call me Grandpa, and I said no. I want to tell you why I said that, and why I never claimed you as my grandson before. I want you to know why I took you to the Dursleys. After I have finished my story, if you still want to call me Grandpa, then I would be honored."

Harry nodded that he understood and waited for Dumbledore to continue.

"The Wizarding world has never been prepared to fight a Dark Lord, and yet one has appeared in almost every generation throughout history. Before Grindelwald, there was another who called himself Lord Gargouille. I was, of course, a much younger man then. I taught transfiguration at Hogwarts and had a wife and two daughters. We had a small house in Hogsmeade so that I could be near my family.

"At the turn of the century, when Gargouille began to wreak havoc on our world, I was approached by members of the Order of the Phoenix. Before then, I had never heard of the Order. Later I found out that it was an ancient organization that only became active when a dark wizard was threatening our world. I, of course, agreed to join. However, there was a spy in our midst, and Gargouille found out the names of the members.

"One night, he and his followers attacked the homes of all the Order members, killing them and their families. I was working late at my office, so I was not at home when my own family was murdered. It was not until I returned that I found them. My wife, Elizabeth, and my ten-year-old daughter, Mary, were dead. Elizabeth had placed a silencing charm on Alice, who was still an infant, and hidden her in a laundry basket in the cupboard. Alice was the only survivor. I immediately took the baby to my friends, Nicholas and Perenelle Flamel, who raised her as their own.

"I was one of the few Order members left, and I became the new leader. I devoted my life to fighting the darkness. I turned my back on my child and never acknowledged her. I told myself that it was for her protection, and it was. However, it was also because I could not bear the pain of losing someone I loved ever again.

"Against my wishes, Perenelle told Alice that I was her father. I visited her occasionally, though always in secret. And after she married and had a child, I occasionally visited my grandchild, which became your grandmother. I stayed in contact with my family over the years, but no one knew that we were related. I even visited you when you were a baby, and to my chagrin, you began to call me Grandpa."

Harry grinned at Albus's look of annoyance.

"When James and Lily died, I could not bring you to Hogwarts, and I could not allow you to go with Sirius. You see, Harry, I thought that Sirius was your parent's secret keeper, and we knew that there was a spy in the Order. It wasn't until that Halloween night that we found out that it was Sirius. Of course, now we know we were wrong, but at the time, it seemed so obvious.

"I took you to the Dursleys because she shared your mother's blood, which would provide protection for you. However, I knew that things would be hard for you. I did not know that you would be mistreated and abused, though. I suspected only that you would not be loved, and in that, I thought I was doing you a favor.

"To be honest with you, Harry, I did not check on you in all those years because I did not want to know if they were mistreating you. If I knew, then I would have to do something about it. I placed Arabella Figg close by to make sure you were not in danger from them, but I did not interfere with their mistreatment of you. And, yes, I knew about the mistreatment. Arabella told me after each of your visits. I am sure that neither she nor Minerva will ever forgive me for placing you there.

"And, so, Harry. That is why I told you that you could not call me Grandpa. Not only did I not want anyone to know of our relationship, but I also knew that I did not deserve the title. After you vanquished Voldemort, I asked Charles if I could see you. He told me that only family members were allowed. It was then that I realized that I wanted to be a part of your family more than I had ever wanted anything in my life. Charles told me that I was allowed in only if I was willing to _be_ your great great grandfather. I told him that I was ready.

"But the choice is no longer mine, Harry. Now that you know the truth about what I have done to you, it is your choice. You do not have to make it now, but when you have decided, please let me know whether or not you want me to be your great great grandfather."

Albus stood up and started to the door.

"Grandpa?" Harry called softly.

Albus closed his eyes for a moment, and then turned to look at Harry.

"I can't say that I'm not hurt and angry about what you did. I don't think I could ever do that to anyone, especially a baby. There will be times when I remember it and get angry about it, probably, but you're still a member of my family, and families have to be willing to work together and forgive each other. I forgive you, Grandpa, and I want you to be part of my family."

Harry got up, went over to Albus, and hugged him. Tears ran down Albus's face as he held his great great grandson. "Oh, my boy," he whispered. "My dear, dear boy."


	29. Chapter 29

Epilogue

_Dear Ginny, _

_I'm having a great time at Potter Manor. I've only been here a week, but I've already explored much of the house. There are so many rooms; I probably won't find them all before I have to go back to Hogwarts. _

_I am doing much better. I still have nightmares, occasionally, but they're not as bad as they were. Granddad says that it's best if I talk about them because, he says, if keep them inside, they'll fester and get worse. So, I've been talking about my dreams and that day in Diagon Alley with Granddad, Sirius, and Remus. _

_Winky is still pampering me like an invalid, and Dobby won't let any of Granddad's house elves wait on me. He says that I belong to him and Winky. I think that's kind of funny. _

_I hope you'll try out for the quidditch team, Ginny. You'd make a great chaser. You and Katie would work well together. We'll still need another chaser and two more beaters, though. Sirius has been going over some plays with me that they did when he and Dad were playing at Hogwarts. Ron said he would look them over, and he and I will come up with some others. He's pretty good at strategy, Ron is. But don't tell him I said so because he's already got a big head. _

_I'll tell you something, but you have to swear not to tell anyone else. Grandpa Albus asked Remus to be our DADA teacher this year, and Remus said yes! Can you believe it? It's going to be a great year! Grandpa has also given me permission to go to Remus's quarters to spend the night if the nightmares get too bad so I won't disturb the other people in the dorm. _

_Oh, and here's another secret. Please don't tell anyone, but Snape has quit Hogwarts! He's going to be a potion brewer at his house and sell his potions. We're going to have some bloke who used to teach at Hogwarts a long time ago. His name is Slughorn, and Remus said that my mum was his favorite student. Anyway, that means that I get to take potions, and Ron will, too, so you might want to try to talk him into getting a potions book – just in case. _

_Ron told me he was still teasing you about our relationship. Don't tell him I told you, but he's just kidding around, Gin. He doesn't mean any of it, so just ignore him when he does it. _

_Granddad said that you, Ron, Hermione, Neville, and Luna could come to the island next summer to visit for a couple of weeks if you want. I hope you will, because you'll love it here. _

_I have to stop writing now because Grandpa Albus is here today and we're all going down to the beach for lunch. I wish you could see him in his Bermuda shorts and wild tropical shirts. It's hilarious!_

_I miss you very much, and please write soon. _

_Love,_

_Harry_

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Harry spent the last two weeks of the happiest summer of his life (so far) at his family home on Potter Island. On the morning he was to leave for Hogwarts, Dobby told him that he and Winky wanted to see him alone in their quarters in the trunk. Harry transported into the trunk and went into their room.

Winky was lying on the bed, a wet cloth over her forehead.

"Winky, are you sick?" Harry asked, going to her and sitting down on the floor next to the very small bed. "Do you need a healer?"

"No, Harry Potter. Winky just have tummy upset because of little one."

"Little one?" he asked. "Winky, are you pregnant?"

She nodded, and Harry grinned. "Congratulations, both of you. I've never seen a baby house elf before. How small will it be?"

"Winky and Dobby having daughter, Harry Potter," Dobby said. "When she first born, she be small enough for to go in your hand, but then she be growing bigger."

Harry smiled. "I can't wait. It'll be like having a little sister. Can I be Uncle Harry?"

"No, Harry Potter. You must be godfather like Sirius."

Harry's eyes widened in surprise. "You want me to be her godfather?"

Winky and Dobby nodded, staring at him wide-eyed, waiting for his answer.

"I would be honored," he said. "I would love to be your baby's godfather. Do you have a name picked out?"

"Harry Potter must name goddaughter," Winky said.

"You want me to name her? Oh, Winky, that's quite an honor. Is there any name in particular you like?"

"Any name Harry Potter pick out," Dobby said.

Harry nodded. "All right, then. I know what I want to name my goddaughter."

Dobby and Winky waited for him to go on.

"Hope," he said. "I want my goddaughter's name to be Hope."

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On September 1, Harry and his family waited on Platform 9 ¾ for the Weasleys and Hermione to arrive.

"I would ask if you have everything packed," Sirius said, but since you're taking your entire house with you, I don't suppose that's going to be a problem.

Harry grinned and patted the trunk, which he had hung around his neck. "Nope. Not a problem," he said.

When Hermione and the Weasleys arrived, he hugged his family and, with a wink, told them that he would see them soon. He knew that as soon as the train pulled away, Remus would apparate to Hogwarts and Sirius and his grandfather would transport into the trunk. They had decided that they should be near for a while in case Harry needed them, since he was still recovering from his experience with Voldemort.

They boarded the train, found a compartment, and then Harry opened the window to wave to his family. He had never had a family to see him off before, and he wanted to enjoy it for as long as possible.

"Have a good year!" his grandfather called as the Hogwarts Express pulled out of the station. "See you soon!"

Harry waved at them until they were out of sight. Finally, he closed the window and sat back in his seat with a smile. It was going to be a great year.

THE END


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